Catalytic decontamination of waste gases in a fixed bed reactor, operating at non-steady state conditions achieved by periodic gas flow reversal, is simulated on the basis of a mathematical model. The opportunity to utilize a significant part of the reaction heat is discussed and the effect of catalyst inactivation upon reactor performance is analyzed. Stable temperature regime and conversion exceeding 99.5% could be ensured by a more than eightfold reduction of catalyst activity.