An experimental and simulation study has been carried out for the dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene in a catalytic membrane reactor, with and without reaction on the permeate side. The membrane comprised a palladium-silver alloy deposited as a thin film on a Vycor glass support and palladium catalyst pellets were packed inside the membrane tube. Permeation data for the model were determined separately. The differential equations for transport and reaction within the membrane module were solved using orthogonal collocation to give concentration profiles as a function of contact time, reactor length and radius. The simulation was validated with experimental data and was observed to correctly predict the increase in conversion with contact time for the range of experimental conditions investigated.