The aim of this work was the study of the application of membrane concentration to exhausted tanning baths from vegetable tannage operations in order to increase the tannin/non-tannin (T/NT) ratio and obtain recyclable material. For this purpose four samples of tanning baths at different T/NT ratios (from 0.7 to 1.4) were processed using six different types of membranes which ranged from reverse osmosis (RO) to nanofiltration (NF). The membrane module Fluid Systems TFC S 2540 gave the best results in terms of permeate flux and also in terms of increased T/NT ratio in the retentate (from 1.4 to 1.7). In order to compare the permeate flux reduction with time (J(t)) for the different modules, the osmotic pressure differences (Deltapi) between permeate and retentate were estimated by electrical conductivity measures. The fouling phenomena for the different membranes in the processing of each sample were evaluated by comparing the pressures required to obtain the same VRF (volume reduction factor), NPF (normalized permeate flux) and membrane performances with tap water before and after tannin concentration. The retention of tannins, which are polyphenols capable of significant hydrogen bonding, was found to be governed by the chemistry of the interactions between their complexes and the polyamide membrane material. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.