Hollow glass microspheres are widely used and local companies have competitive advantages

Glass beads are generally divided into two categories: hollow glass beads and solid glass beads. Hollow glass microspheres are specially processed micron-sized hollow glass spheres. Hollow glass microspheres have the characteristics of low price, low oil absorption, low thermal conductivity, high strength, and electrical insulation. They are mainly used in coatings, plastics, rubber and other fields.

The preparation methods of hollow glass microspheres include impeller ejection method, spray granulation method, dry gel method, calcination method, droplet method and glass powder method. In the spray granulation method, sodium silicate aqueous solution is sprayed into a spray dryer to produce powder particles, and then the product is produced through a heating reaction. The spray granulation method has the advantages of low production cost, high production efficiency, and simple operation process, and is the mainstream preparation method of hollow glass microspheres. In recent years, Chinese manufacturers have increased research on product homogeneity and chemical stability based on the spray granulation method to further improve the production capacity and quality of hollow glass beads.

According to the “2022-2027 China Hollow Glass Microbead Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center , hollow glass microspheres are mainly composed of inorganic components, including borosilicate, magnesium oxide, silica, sodium silicate, zirconia and alumina. Borosilicate has the advantages of good chemical stability and good thermal stability, and is the core raw material of hollow glass beads. Benefiting from the rich variety of raw materials and sufficient supply, my country’s hollow glass microsphere production continues to increase. In 2021, my country’s hollow glass microsphere production reached 51,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%. Driven by technological innovation, it is expected that my country’s hollow glass microsphere production will exceed 100,000 tons by 2025.

Hollow glass microspheres are widely used, including absorbing materials, sealing materials, sound insulation and insulation materials, plastic products, building materials and rubber products, etc. In the field of absorbing materials, the surface modification of hollow glass beads using chemical plating technology can improve their infrared reflection and electromagnetic wave performance, and can be used as the base material of absorbing materials; in the field of plastics and rubber products, hollow glass beads are mainly Used as filler, it can reduce product weight and production costs.

The world’s leading hollow glass microbead companies include Asahi Glass of Japan, 3M of the United States, Potters of the United States, Glaverbel of Belgium, etc. The main manufacturers of hollow glass beads in my country include Sinosteel Maanshan Mining Research Institute Microbeads Company, Shanxi Hainuo Technology Co., Ltd., etc. Among them, Sinosteel microbeads account for nearly 10.0% of the global market.

Industry analysts said that at present, my country’s hollow glass microsphere industry has entered a stage of rapid development, and its products are widely used in many fields. As market demand is gradually released, the future development trend of the industry will continue to improve. Benefiting from the continuous improvement of the technological innovation level of local enterprises, the output and quality of my country’s hollow glass microspheres have continued to improve, and the products have competitive advantages in the global market.