AbstractThis investigation reports the experimental and theoretical results carried out to evaluate the gas holdup for air–water system in a novel hybrid rotating and reciprocating perforated plate bubble column under countercurrent condition. The response of this hybrid column is found to be similar to that of reciprocating plate column (RPC) showing mixer‐settler, transition, and emulsion regions. The effect of agitation level, superficial gas velocity, superficial liquid velocity, perforation diameter, and plate spacing on gas holdup is studied and found to be significant. The gas holdup is found to be least in the range of agitation level of 1.3–1.5 cm/s. For all the superficial gas and liquid velocities considered in this present investigation, the critical agitation level at minimum gas holdup remains nearly same. The gas holdup in this hybrid column is 1.2–1.7 times higher in mixer‐settler region and 2.1–2.7 times higher in emulsion region than that of RPC. Correlations have been developed and found to concur with the experimental values. It can be used with 95% accuracy. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering