Results of simulations are presented concerning a reverse-flow reactor for the catalytic combustion of methane that occurs in coal-mine ventilation air. The simulations were performed for two types of catalyst: 12% MnO2/gamma-Al2O3 and 0.5% Pd/gamma-Al2O3. A special attention is given to maximum temperature of the catalyst bed in order to minimize occurrence of homogeneous combustion. The simulations revealed that there is a visible contradiction between efficiency of heat recovery aimed to high-pressure steam production and efforts to constraint maximum temperature in the bed. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.