Patent ID: 7291382

Claim:
An open-cell, absorbent thermoplastic foam, including at least 75% by weight of a foam formula mixture which comprises: A) about 5 to about 70 parts by weight of a thermoplastic styrene block copolymer elastomer; B) about 5 to about 70 parts by weight of an ethylene ionomer; C) about 15 to about 60 parts by weight of a stiff polymer selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, high impact polystyrene, and combinations thereof; and D) about 0.5 to about 5 parts by weight of a surfactant selected from the group consisting of ethoxylated dimethylsilicone surfactants, polyoxyethylene copolymer surfactants, block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, organic sulfonates, alkylpolyglycosides, polyolefin glycol derivatives, and combinations thereof; wherein the thermoplastic foam has an open-cell content of at least about 70% and a vertical wicking height of at least about 4.5 cm.