Catalytic oxidation in a reverse flow reactor is an attractive process for the decontamination of air polluted with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this paper several aspects of operating this type of reactor for air purification under strongly varying conditions will be discussed. For a successful operation of such reactor a minimum amount of combustibles is required, and a simple theory is developed to predict this minimum value. This minimum amount is strongly influenced by the reaction kinetics, the heat transport in the packed bed and the adiabaticity of the reactor. To core with a too low temperature level in the reactor for a complete conversion, an electrical heating device should be installed in the centre of the reactor bed to increase locally the temperature rapidly and efficiently. To control the maximum temperature in case of too high concentrations, extra air should be added to the feed.