In the design process of the photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) reactor using TiO2-coated foam nickels, the optimum of catalyst film thickness, light intensity and flow velocity were considered. A model was developed to study the effect of catalyst film thickness on photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde by a TiO2-coated foam nickel at continuous flow mode. In this model, external mass transfer and internal molecule diffusion-reaction were considered. A first-order kinetics equation was used to account for the photocatalytic reaction. Two exponential equations were employed to describe the distribution of light intensities in foam nickels and catalyst films, respectively. Validated with experimental data, the model can be used to predict the optimal thickness of catalyst films. A method for determining appropriate light intensities was proposed and discussed. The appropriate light intensity can be obtained by giving a margin, regarded as an excess coefficient, to the light intensity calculated based on the assumption of complete use of excited electron-hole pairs. The excess coefficient needs to be determined experimentally. In addition, the optimal flow velocity of PCO reactors could be consistent with the required one by changing the windward area of foam nickels. Based on the theoretical analyses, a novel PCO reactor containing 15 parallel-connected cells was designed. Each reaction cell was composed of an UV lamp and a TiO2-coated tubular foam nickel. The performance of the reactor was tested by degrading gaseous formaldehyde at an indoor concentration level. The results showed that the reactor had low pressure loss and good degradation capability. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.