Carrying out exothermic reactions between a gas and a liquid

In a process for carrying out a solid-catalyst promoted exothermic reaction between a gas and a liquid, wherein the gas and the liquid are conducted cocurrently through a packed column, the solid catalyst serving, alone or in admixture with inert packing, as the packing and wherein a pressure drop .DELTA.p is observed between the ends of said column, the improvement which comprises passing an intimate mixture of the gas and the liquid in the form of a turbulent stream through the packed column at such rates that, when the gas flow rate is kept constant, a variation in flow rate of the liquid produces a rise in the pressure difference .DELTA.p with increasing liquid flow load L, expressed as .DELTA.p/L, at least twice as large as the rise .DELTA.p/L under liquid trickling conditions providing laminar flow of the liquid over the packing bodies and continuous gas flow but said liquid flow rate being below the rate at which pulsing .DELTA.p in the column is produced, said packing being spheres having diameters of 2 to 8 mm., cylindrical bodies having a length of 2 to 15 mm. and a diameter of 2 to 6 mm. or nonspherical or non-cylindrical bodies having a volume equivalent to that of said spheres.