Hollow Glass Microspheres for Plastics, Elastomers, and Adhesives Compounds

Glass Bubble technology has taken strong leaps in achieving high "strength to density ratio" which now enables their use in demanding polymer processing operations for various plastic and rubber parts and applications. Also, because light weighting and structural strengthening can be achieved with Glass Bubbles, this technology is of eminent importance for improving sustainability. For those reasons Glass Bubble technology is quickly penetrating various end-use applications in a wide range of industries such as Automotive, Aerospace, Building and Construction, Electronics, Medical, Consumer Goods, and the off-shore Oil industry. The sparse literature which exists about Glass Bubbles is in the form of papers and short chapters and covers rather theoretical aspects. Glass Bubbles for Plastics, Elastomers, and Adhesives for the first time gathers in one book all practical and theoretical aspects of Glass Bubble manufacturing, properties, processing, applications as well as regulatory, environmental, and health and safety aspects. The book enables the reader to evaluate the applicability of Glass Bubbles to various applications involving polymers in thermoplastics, elastomers, liquid thermosets and adhesives. It is therefore an indispensible guide for material selection and improving sustainability of products. Related data sets and case studies complement the book - making it a reference book for plastics processors, product designers and engineers working with plastics and elastomers who want to improve functionality and performance make their products lighter, longer lasting and stronger, reduce amounts of material used and decrease costs. Features: best Practices for plastics and rubber processing with glass bubbles; formulating with Glass Bubbles for different end-use applications and how Glass Bubbles influence various properties (mechanical, structural, thermal and optical properties) in these applications; and one-stop reference book also covering regulatory and environmental aspects of this important additive.