Specialty Chemicals

Specialty chemicals are a group of highly valued, rapid-growth chemicals with many different end product markets. Typical growth rates are cited at one to three times GDP, priced over a dollar per pound. Specialty Chemicals are also referred to as fine chemicals.

Specialty/fine chemicals are generally characterized by their innovation. Products are sold for their function rather than for their chemical content.

Products include industrial gases, adhesives and sealants, electronic chemicals, as well as coatings, industrial and institutional cleaning chemicals, and catalysts. Fifteen percent of specialty chemicals sales are coatings, with other products ranging from 10 to 13 percent.

In chemical technology, a distinction is made between bulk chemicals produced in massive quantities and fine chemicals, which are custom-produced in smaller quantities for special uses. There is a very large number of fine chemicals that are produced, and thus the chemistries of producing them need to be flexible, whereas the atom economy is not as critical as for bulk chemicals. Owing to the small volume and often-changing chemistry, fine chemicals production is more expensive, generates more waste and requires a higher research investment per kilogram. However, fine chemicals are produced in industrial quantities.

Fine chemicals are pure, single chemical substances commercially produced with chemical reactions for highly specialized applications. Fine chemicals produced are categorized into active pharmaceutical ingredients and their intermediates, biocides, and specialty chemicals for technical applications.

Speciality chemicals are produced for technical applications. Inks, performance-enhancing additives, special coatings, and photographic chemicals are common examples. They are generally sold based on differentiated performance characteristics instead of price per mass, the basis upon which fine chemicals are generally sold.