Liquid hold-up and gas–liquid mass transfer in an alumina open-cell foam

Open-cell foams are solid structures formed by an intricate network of macroporous interconnected channels. The high porosity and tortuosity of the channels results in high external surface area, so open-cell foams are very efficient for promoting phase contact, e.g. in gas–liquid packed-bed reactors. In addition, the tortuous path of the channels breaks up the flow and enhances mass transfer with respect to other structured beds, such as honeycomb monoliths, and pressure drop is comparatively low.