Bentonite clays have been showing good adsorbing characteristics and are used as an alternative material in the removal of heavy metals. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the removal of nickel on Bofe bentonite calcined clay in porous bed. Firstly, a study was conducted to define the operation outflow, based on the minimum mass transfer zone (MTZ) obtained, useful (q(U)) and total adsorbed (q(T)) removal amounts and total nickel removal percentage (Rem (%)). Assays of nickel adsorption on clay were conducted according to a 2(2) factorial design with three central points to evaluate the effect of the particle diameter and initial adsorbate concentration on variables q(U),q(T) and Rem (%).Tests to obtain the adsorbent physical and chemical characteristics were performed on samples of Bofe clay in natura, calcined, and calcined submitted to nickel adsorption. This clay was characterized according to the following techniques: Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Physisorption of N-2 (BET), Helium Picnometry and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with metal mapping. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.