Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE) is a promising method for ethylene production. In comparison with the conventional methods which need high quantities of heat and also release considerable amount of COx, ODHE is more favorable in terms of energy and environment. This article presents an investigation on water removal effects on the performance of a multi-tubular fixed bed reactor over MoVTeNbO catalyst. Its performance is analyzed in terms of ethylene and COx selectivities and productions. Results show that ethylene and COx selectivities can reach from 87% and 19% to 91% and 12% respectively, which leads to 20% increase in ethylene and 28% reduction in COx productions. Also, it was shown that reactor temperature is reduced with water removal and its hotspot decreased from 500 degrees C to 460 degrees C that provides more controllable condition. Furthermore, a 20-bed mode membrane-like reactor is investigated for more water removal which results more than 94% ethylene selectivity. According to the results membrane reactor can be a proper choice for ODHE process with water removal. (C) 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.