We have investigated the performance of two rotating disk prototypes for dynamic filtration designed in our laboratory for the treatment of various industrial effluents by micro- (MF), ultra- (UF) and nanofiltration (NF). The larger unit was built in stainless steel and could be equipped with two circular membranes of 460 cm(2) area. Permeate fluxes were compared with those obtained on the same effluents using a vibrating shear-enhanced filtration system (VSEP) equipped with the same membrane or with regular crossflow filtration in tubular membranes. Permeate fluxes obtained with the rotating disk fitted with vanes were consistently higher than those of the VSEP, by 80% in MF and by up to 45% in NF at high pressures. Anionic effluents from a detergent plant, with 81,000 mg/l initial chemical oxygen demand (COD), were treated using a 150-D NF membrane (DS5-DL). The permeate flux from the disk unit increased linearly with transmembrane pressure to reach 2001 h(-1) m(-2) at 40 bar with a COD of 730 mg/l vs. 1301 h(-1) m(-2) for the VSEP equipped with the same membrane at its maximum frequency. These good performances in UF and NF can be attributed to the very high shear rates, up to 220,000 s(-1) at the membrane rim at 1500 rpm, which reduce concentration polarization to much lower levels than in conventional crossflow filtration.