A foam heat exchanger, for use in connection with hot melt adhesive or other thermoplastic material dispensing applicators, comprises a foam having an open cell reticulated foam structure. Due to the open cell reticulated structure of the foam, the surface area of the foam heat exchanger, with which the air comes into contact, is significantly increased. In addition, the open cell reticulated structure of the foam heat exchanger will also cause the air flow to experience resistance and turbulence so as to in turn enhance the heating efficiency of the heat exchanger, through means of enhanced thermal energy transfer from the heat exchanger to the processed air stream, whereby a significantly larger volume of air can be heated as compared to a conventional heat exchanger of similar size.