A flow-through catalytic membrane has been used to carry out consecutively the oxidative and non-oxidative dehydrogenation of butane, with the aim of achieving thermal and chemical coupling of both processes. To this end, two distinct zones were created across the membrane radius: the first, containing V supported on MgO, was prepared by sequential impregnation, and the second, containing Pt-Sn on gamma -Al2O3, was prepared by by sol-gel procedures. The investigation highlights some of the problems encountered during membrane preparation, which are discussed and related to the reaction results observed. When the preparation procedures are tailored to achieve segregation of the catalytic materials in both layers, and when the operating conditions are such that complete oxygen consumption within the oxidative dehydrogenation layer is obtained, the use of the flow-through, two-layer membrane allows stable operation and, at the same time, gives rise to increased conversion and selectivity.