As anticipated, solid and hollow glass microspheres have many applications, which depend on the properties of the constituent material and the size, and involve a wide range of technologies. Their use in several different fields has attracted much interest for many years.
Nowadays, from an industrial point of view, healthcare and biotechnology are the dominant sector, especially due to the development of drug delivery systems; together with the sector of cosmetics and personal care, hollow glass microsphere covers more than 50% of the world market.
The construction industry, paints and coatings, and automotive are the other relevant industrial application areas. Depending on the application, sometimes ceramic or crystalline microspheres have better properties; hollow glass microsphere remain, however, the most used components. This is true also in the case of energy applications, an area that has been becoming increasingly important in recent decades. Here, we can categorize the use of hollow glass microsphere into three sub-areas: energy saving, energy storage, and energy production.