Process for producing ethylene via oxidative dehydrogenation (odh) of ethane

A process for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane is revealed. The process may include: contacting a feed of ethane and an oxygen-containing gas, in the presence of an oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst, in an oxidative dehydrogenation reaction zone, under conditions for the oxidative dehydrogenation of at least a portion of the ethane, in order to producing a product stream comprising ethylene, carbon oxides, water, and unreacted ethane and oxygen, where the oxygen concentration in the product stream is at least 0.1 mol%; contacting the product stream with an oxygen scavenging catalyst, in an oxygen scavenging reaction zone, to cause combustion of at least a portion of the oxygen; the recovery, from the oxygen removal reaction zone, of an effluent that has a lower oxygen content; the separation of water from the effluent; the separation of carbon oxides and any non-condensible gas, from ethylene and unreacted ethane; and the separation of ethylene from unreacted ethane.