A membrane hybrid process of nanofiltration (NF) and electrodialysis (ED) is optimised to recover water from the El alkaline pulp bleaching effluent. This highly coloured effluent has a high content of organic and organochlorinated compounds and salts. NF is selected to remove organic compounds and undertake partial desalination. A high degree of water purity is further achieved using ED to reduce sodium chloride concentration to a level of 350 ppm. The effluent was processed by a NF pilot plant with 1.7 m(2) spiral wound module. A model solution of NF permeate was used for ED pilot plant tests at room temperature. The effect of increasing temperature on ED performance was studied on the laboratory scale. A model including experimental data was used to simulate and optimise the hybrid process.