Global reaction enhancement (GRE) by periodic operation was investigated via numerical simulation in a chemical process for converting methanol to light olefins. The periodic operation used was a sinusoidal variation in the reactor wall temperature along its axis. Appropriate wall temperature modulation was found to increase the ethylene and propylene yields by up to ca. 3%, compared with that obtained with the corresponding optimum uniform wall temperature. The result suggested that GRE could be achieved, and periodic operations or non-uniform temperature setting were effective methods to accomplish process intensification.