The paper is focused on the comparison between a reverse flow reactor (RFR) and a counter-current reactor (CCR) in terms of the performances that may be achieved in these kinds of reactors when selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with ammonia is carried out. In order to investigate the performances of both reactor configurations, a mathematical model based on heat and mass balances for gas and solid phase was used. The possibility of achieving auto-thermal operation, even when a gas with a low temperature is going to be fed to the reactor was investigated. The temperature profiles, the reactants conversion, as well as the response to disturbances in the feeding flow have been used as criteria for comparison. Numerical simulations have shown that the CCR model is able to provide the same results as the RFR model in terms of temperature profiles when certain values of heat transfer coefficient, switching time, flow conditions and reactor geometry are taken into consideration. As a consequence of such similar thermal behaviour, the CCR model could be applied as a limiting case of RFR operation when the fast switching of the flow direction conditions is taken into account. Nevertheless, this analogy provides a simple basis for short-cut calculations since the steady-state profile of a CCR can be computed much easier than the periodic steady-state of a RFR. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.