Envirospheres

E-SPHERES® are an advanced ceramic substance, designed to enhance the performance and reduce weight of engineered materials.

E-SPHERES® is the register name for the hollow ceramic microspheres manufactured by Australia’s own Envirospheres in the South Burnett district of Queensland – just over 200 km north/west of Brisbane.

Hollow ceramic microspheres are integrated into composite parts as an additive or reinforcing filler for a variety of product enhancements and process improvements, including to lower the product density, reduce weight and shrinkage, improve flow and wetting of fibreglass with resin, increase impact strength, and thermal insulation and resistance. They can be used in all standard processing methods for thermoset composites including spray-up, hand lay-up, resin transfer moulding, and have found end uses in applications as diverse as fibreglass-reinforced materials, automotive brake components and engineered syntactic foams.

Due to the ceramic composition, E-SPHERES® are flame-retardant and non-combustible, which are key properties for many industrial applications including composites. The micro-shell structure of E-SPHERES® can survive compressive pressures over 4800 psi, contributed by its spherical shape, wall thickness and ceramic nature.

Applications in composites vary from syntactic foam systems such as deepwater buoyancy and ballistic applications, architectural wall panels, swimming pools and polymarble, to automotive components for trucks and buses.