This work was focused on synthesizing mechanically reinforced ultraporous ceramic membranes derived from Al–Fe pillared bentonite and silicon carbide for sustainable dye filtration along with investigating the relationship among composition, microstructure, porosity, mechanical strength, permeate flux and methylene blue rejection. Preparation of Al–Fe pillared bentonite involves thermal activation, templated intercalation using the Al–Fe polycation, filtration, drying and calcination. Composite membranes were prepared by mixing Al–Fe pillared bentonite with SiC in mass ratios of 100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100 and subsequently pressing at a pressure of 50 kg/cm2 for one minute, drying for 48 h and sintering at a temperature of up to 800°Cfor a periodof10 h. Membrane morphology and pore structure measurements were determined from SEM image analysisand the filtration characteristics were evaluatedat1.6 bar through the use of methylene blue as amodel dye pollutant. The porosity ranged between 46.83–52.44% and the mean pore sizes varied from 0.12–0.28 µm. The highest flexural strength of these membranes was 28.6 MPa obtained for a 40:60 Al-Fe pillared bentonite/SiC membrane which meant that each prepared porous ceramic shaped body showed better structure integrity respect to unpilled membranes. All the determined membranes demonstrated high dye rejection (≥ 83%) values, while in comparison to pure pillared bentonite membrane, the SiC-contained membranes provided a more stable flux behavior and better rejection performance. However, the porosity was derived primarily using SEM image analysis, so validating it with traditional void and surface characterization techniques will be necessary. The proposed membranes provide a promising low-cost, energy-efficient textile wastewater treatment in practice. Originality of this work consists in combining adsorption-active Al–Fe pillared bentonite with SiC material which could add to the structural strength ensuring a compromise between pore size distribution, dye rejection and mechanical stability.