poreuses

Poreuses is the feminine plural form of the French adjective poreux, used to describe substances or structures that contain pores or voids. In French, poreuses agrees with feminine plural nouns, and the term appears in contexts such as roches poreuses, membranes poreuses, and other porous materials. The word is common in technical writing across geology, materials science, biology and environmental engineering, where porosity influences transport, storage and mechanical properties.

In materials science and geology, porosity refers to the fraction of a material’s volume that is made up of pores. Porous materials can have open porosity, where pores are interconnected and allow fluids to move through the structure, or closed porosity, where pores are isolated and do not contribute to fluid flow. Pore size can vary from micropores (<2 nanometers) to mesopores (2–50 nanometers) and macropores (>50 nanometers), and the arrangement of pores affects permeability and mechanical strength.

Porosity is typically characterized through techniques such as mercury intrusion porosimetry, gas adsorption (for surface area and microporosity), and imaging methods like micro-computed tomography. The interpretation of porosity often also considers pore connectivity, tortuosity, and pore throat sizes, which influence how fluids travel through porous media.

Applications for porous or poreuse materials include filtration and separation, catalysis, energy storage and conversion, insulation and sound absorption, and biomedical scaffolds. In soils and rocks, porosity relates to drainage, groundwater movement and reservoir quality. Overall, the term poreuses highlights the presence and significance of pores in a material’s structure and function.