Industrial applications for perlite are the most diverse, ranging from high performance fillers for plastics to cements for petroleum, water and geothermal wells. Other applications include its use as a filter media for pharmaceuticals, food products, chemicals and water for municipal systems and swimming pools.
Additional applications include its use as an abrasive in soaps, cleaners, and polishes; and a variety of foundry applications utilizing perlite's insulating properties and high heat resistance. This same heat resistant property is taken advantage of when perlite is used in the manufacture of refractory bricks, mortars, and pipe insulation.

Filter aid
The properties which give perlite filter aids a competitive advantage over competitive products are their not toxicity and low bulk density. Their low bulk density is very important for the cost effectiveness of the process because at the filtration bed it is the volume of filteraids that matters and not their mass. Perlite filteraids are also preferred in many industries because they allow filtration equipment to filter liquids at a faster rate and for a longer time without the filter septum to be blocked.
Perlite filteraids are used in the filtration of wine, sugar and starch, beverages, edible oil, as well as pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
Expanded perlite is an excellent filteraid, characterized by high purity and inertness. It has the property of forming pre-coats and cakes of a large number of pores, which can trap effectively the various solid impurities from the liquid to be filtered. Their main advantages over competitive products are their non-toxicity and low bulk density. Perlite filteraids also facilitate the fast rate of filtration and high clarity of the liquid

Evacuated and non evacuated Cryogenic service
Perlite insulation suitable for evacuated and nonevacuated cryogenic service exhibits low thermal conductivity throughout a range of temperatures, pressures, and densities.
In addition to excellent thermal properties, perlite insulation is relatively low in cost, easy to handle and install, and does not shrink, well, warp or slump. It also is noncombustible and meets fire regulations and can reduce insurance costs.

Perlite in the steel and Foundry Industries
Perlite insulation is used in high temperature applications in the steel and foundry industries such as ladle topping, hot topping and risering, in topping compounds, in exothermic and insulating shapes, as a cushioning agent, in molding sand and in the manufacture of refractory blocks and bricks.

Filler
Advantages of Perlite Hollow spheres or Bubbles as fillers
Because of their unique multicellular structure, these lightweight perlite fillers can provide many advantages.

1. They are effective bulk fillers because of their low density.
2. Exhibit a uniform white color that has minimal to no effect on the color of the finished product.
3. The particle shape of lightweight perlite fillers promotes good bonding between the perlite and resins.
4. Some properties such as impact resistance and tensile strength may be enhanced by the particle shape and size of lightweight perlite fillers.
5. Lightweight perlite fillers can reduce raw material costs while improving workability.
6. when used with other fire retardant materials, lightweight , inert and inorganic perlite fillers can enhance fire resistance.

Because of these characteristics, perlite lightweight hollow spheres or bubbles have been found to be cost effective in a number of applications including the manufacture of adhesives, auto body putty, cultured marble, coatings, patching compounds and stucco.