Water dephenolation was studied using a multistage Rotating Film Pertractor (RFP). This relatively new liquid membrane technique allows the use of almost water-insoluble liquids as intermediate organic ’membranes’. The effects of the main processing parameters such as disc rotation velocity, temperature and phase flowrate, on removal efficiency were studied. A mathematical model describing the process of dephenolation in a counter-current multistage cascade of n-RFP contactors was proposed for the prediction of phenol removal.