[en] Bentonite clay coming from Pernambuco was thermally modified in order to increase its affinity and capacity in the copper removal in porous bed. The application of this procedure is justified by the low cost of clay, their abundance and affinity for various metal ions. Thermally treatment modifies the clay adsorption properties enables its use in porous bed system, with the increase in surface area and mechanical strength. The material was characterized by x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and N_2 physisorption. Then tests were carried out for adsorption of copper in various experimental conditions and evaluated the mass transfer zone, useful and total adsorbed removal amounts and total copper removal percentage. The results showed that the clay treated at higher temperature showed higher copper removal. (author)