What are Hollow Glass Microspheres Used For?

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The European Commission has submitted to member states a new draft of sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo. Some member states that rely heavily on Russian energy sought exemptions.  

Western media reported that the European Commission draft of the sixth round of sanctions against Russia includes within six to eight months gradually banning oil imports from Russia, but allowing Hungary and Slovakia to extend the transition period for several months; The Russian Savings bank and other large financial institutions on the sanctions list.  

The European Union has imported 44 billion euros of fossil fuels from Russia since Russia launched its special military operation against Ukraine in late February, according to Finland's Energy and Clean Air Research Center.  

The Institute for European and Global Economics in Brussels estimates that the European Union currently consumes about $450 million worth of Russian oil a day.  

Among EU members, landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, which import most of their oil from Russia, cannot quickly find alternative supplies.  Slovakia says the transition will take years.  Some officials believe Bulgaria and the Czech Republic may also seek to opt out of oil sanctions against Russia.

Affected by the ever-changing international situation, the supply and prices of international bulk hollow glass microsphere are still very uncertain.

A hollow glass microsphere is a kind of hollow microsphere with a thin wall, high strength, and smooth surface, which is a new kind of micron-level light inorganic material developed in the 1950s and 1960s. It not only has the advantages of low density, high strength, low thermal conductivity, high wave penetration, and good stability, but also has insulation, self-lubrication, sound insulation, fire resistance, corrosion resistance, radiation, and other excellent properties that other non-metallic materials do not have.

Some byproducts of fly ash were found in the early years. Under the microscope, they were pearl-like hollow beads with diameters of 20~200μm and shell thickness ranging from 5% to 30% of the diameter. Its main components are SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, and K2O. This sphere has a small specific gravity, high surface pressure, strong wear resistance, good flame retardant, and good acid resistance, high-temperature resistance, so it has been excavated out of the new function.

In the early stage of development, artificial hollow glass beads are mainly used in aerospace, national defense, and other cutting-edge applications due to their high cost.  Later, the United States and Japan took the lead in the development and mass production of hollow glass beads.

Now, hollow glass beads are widely used in aerospace, 5G communications, military marine, lightweight vehicles, energy-conservative building, oilfield cementing, rubber and plastic elastomers, and many other fields. Specifically,

In 5G communications, hollow glass beads can help improve the transmittance due to their hollow glass material with a low dielectric constant of 1.0~2.0. It can be used to make 5G base station and radome materials, 5G mobile phone frame and backplane, Internet of things equipment, etc.

In rubber, elastomer, and lightweight vehicles, hollow glass beads have a good role in reducing the specific gravity, rubber plastic, and other composite materials can reduce weight by 8%~10%. In addition, hollow glass beads can also effectively improve the processing performance of materials, increase rigidity and resilience, improve the material heat insulation, sound insulation, noise reduction, flame retardant, and a series of special functions, widely used in shoes, elastic pillows, car shell, special parts, and other products.

In the coating industry, the micron particle size of hollow glass beads and hollow microspheres effect give the paint a better heat insulation effect. Therefore, it could be used for military and aerospace equipment, oil pipeline, oil tank, communication base stations, large storage silos, etc.

As an anti-corrosion coating, the addition of hollow beads makes the product has more excellent anti-fouling, anti-corrosion, anti-ultraviolet, anti-yellowing, and anti-scratch effect, so it can be used for weatherproof sunscreen and heat insulation outdoor coatings, automotive coatings, anti-fouling coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, etc.

In the adhesive industry, the addition of hollow beads can reduce the density of the adhesive, reduce the volume cost, improve the rheological properties of the adhesive, improve the thixotropy and chemical corrosion resistance, and give the product better sound insulation, heat insulation, low thermal conductivity, and dielectric properties, more excellent anti-warping, anti-cracking properties. Hollow beads are widely used in silicone, epoxy resin, acrylic acid, polyurethane, synthetic rubber, and other adhesives. 

In addition, hollow glass beads are typically used in oilfield cementing, which has long been the most widely used field. The use of oil field cementing includes low-density drilling fluid and cementing cement. 

Low-density drilling fluids added with hollow glass beads are not only more chemically stable, but also have excellent fluidity and better lubrication, which can reduce friction during drilling, extend the service life of drill pipe and drill bit, and other equipment, but also greatly improve drilling speed and operational efficiency. Hollow glass beads are added in the cementing cement products of low density, high strength, easy flow features, is to address the low pressure, easy leakage well solid water mud loss one of the main ways of low return, can effectively control the water loss rate, prevent pollution, during 24h the compressive strength can reach more than 15Mpa, and it can improve cementing quality, prolong the life of the well.

Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials, including silicon powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, calcium nitride, 3D printing powder, etc.

If you are looking for high-quality hollow glass microspheres, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales@cabr-concrete.com)

Prior to the impact of COVID-19 on the chemicals and materials industry and the price of the hollow glass microsphere, many industry observers expected low to flat growth in 2021 in all regions outside Asia, with many countries seeing slower growth compared to recent years. Operational excellence has long been a hallmark of the hollow glass microsphere chemical industry, and many companies are financially able to withstand short-term dips in end-market demand due to rapid leverage from reduced capex on hand.

The analysis shows that, whatever the final course of the pandemic, we can expect the inevitable long-term effects. Workplaces are expected to slowly return to pre-COVID-19 practices. Companies investing in enterprise-wide digital initiatives saw these "payoffs" in the early pandemic environment. For more information about hollow glass microsphere, please feel free to contact us.

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