Operational criteria for the adsorption based separation of alkanes by MFI zeolite membranes were evaluated using the model system n-butane in methane. The influence of operation parameters is rather case sensitive and the separation is determined by the interplay between mobility of adsorbed molecules across the membrane and the depletion of the preferred adsorptive agent, n-butane, along the membrane. Different aspects in the operational design for the separation of alkanes by zeolite membranes were illuminated, namely separation task, stationarity, and membrane surface.