Pressure drop and heat transfer properties of cubic iso-reticular foams

With the aid of additive manufacturing is now possible to create customized reactors and reactor internals with desired targeted properties that can be used for multiple purposes in reaction and separation processes. One interesting possibility regarding manufacture of foams is indeed the possibility to construct fully iso-reticular foams where the residence time, pressure drop and heat transfer properties can be tuned for specific reactions. In this work we present the design, manufacturing and characterization of cubic-cell foams 3D printed in aluminium as a simpler case of geometric iso-reticular design. The results indicated that full shape control and desired porosity are achieved covering porosity values between 0.72 to 0.95. Moreover, the foams have a high surface area per unit volume while presenting a very small pressure drop. Additionally, the possibility of connecting the foams to an external layer makes them very good heat transmission devices with many possible applications in removing or conducting heat to increase conversion of very exothermic or endothermic reactions.