In the field of heterogeneous catalysis ceramic foams are the most prominent representatives of cellular materials. They exhibit extremely high porosities, with a significant degree of interconnectivity that results in low pressure-drop. Mass and heat transfer can be enhanced by high convection in the tortuous large pores. Furthermore, ceramic foam catalysts, unlike their honeycomb monolithic counterparts, have a considerable degree of radial mixing, which is an advantage in processes limited by heat transfer and can homogenize flow distribution. Reactions that require short contact times to control product selectivity or processes that are limited by heat transfer to or from the catalyst bed can benefit from the use of foam-based catalysts. Due to the previously mentioned beneficial behavior foam ceramics are used in several industrial relevant processes like Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or methanation.

Foam ceramics are also used in the field of catalytic emission reduction. Regarding small furnace the tightening of the 1st BImSchV often requires the application of catalysts inside the burning room in order to reduce carbon monoxide as well as hydrocarbon emissions. For this purpose mainly ceramic foams are applied what is not only due to their low price, but also due to the structure-related additional particle emission reduction behavior. Highly turbulent flow conditions caused by the pore structure allow this additional particle reduction, which is of great importance for small furnace. Depending on the structure and the prevailing flow conditions, the particle matter generated during combustion can be quantitatively separated. It must be emphasized that the application of catalysts within small furnace leads to different effects. On the one hand, the catalyst structure can influence the pressure conditions in the combustion chamber, what leads to potentially higher pollutant and particle emissions. On the other hand, the pore structure of the ceramic substrate controls the efficiency of particle separation. Therefore, the selection of a suitable catalyst system for simultaneous emission and particle reduction based on foam ceramics in small furnaces is a complex undertaking.