Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) was used to remove cadmium ions from wastewater efficiently. in this study the nonionic surfactants polyoxyethyleneglycol dodecyl ether (Brij35) and polyoxyethylene octyl phenyl ether (TritonX-100) were for micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration to lower the dosage of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The surfactant critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the degree of micelle counterion binding were investigated. The effects of nonionic surfactant addition on the efficiency of cadmium removal, the residual quantities of surfactant, the permeate flux and the secondary membrane resistance were investigated. A comparison between MEUF with SDS and MEUF with mixed anionic-nonionic surfactants was undertaken. The results show that the addition of BriJ35 or TritonX-100 reduced the CMC of SDS and the degree of counterion binding for the micelles. Due to these variations the Cd2+ rejection efficiency was at a maximum when the Brij35:SDS and the TritonX-100:SDS molar ratio was 0.5. The Cd2+ rejection efficiency in MEUF with SDS is higher than for MEUF with mixed surfactants when the total dose of surfactant is constant. The permeate flux of MEUF with SDS is higher than that for MEUF with mixed surfactants while the secondary resistance of MEUF with SDS is less than that of MEUF with mixed surfactants. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.