Specialty Chemistry

WHAT IS SPECIALTY CHEMISTRY?

Specialty chemicals are manufactured because of their performance or function. They can be single-chemical entities or formulations whose composition influences the performance and processing of the end product. Specialty chemistry produces these high-value chemicals, which are used in products vital to consumers and industry and subsequently serve a range of important markets including performance chemicals, agricultural chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Unlike commodity chemicals which may have dozens of different applications, a specialty chemical only has one or two core applications. In the global marketplace, there is a more diverse range of specialty chemicals, while commodity chemicals make up the majority weight of product volume.

Due to their complex chemistries and narrow range of applications, specialty chemicals are typically manufactured using a batch process. This is not necessarily automated, and has a distinct beginning and end point for each batch. Commodity chemicals are generally produced using continuous processes.

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Manufacturing Specialty Chemicals

Batch processing is the manufacturing method used to create specialty chemicals, where a finite product quantity is made over a period of a few hours or days. The batch process typically consists of:

Introducing measured amounts of starting materials into a vessel.
A series of unit operations (mixing, heating, reaction, distillation, etc.), which occur at discrete scheduled intervals.
Products, by-products and waste streams are removed and stored.
The equipment is cleaned and made ready for the next process.

Types of specialty manufacturers

Specialty chemical manufacturers can be organized into three main categories: tollers, custom chemical producers and proprietary chemical producers. A company could operate in one, two or all arenas.

Toller: A company that sells its manufacturing capabilities
- They charge the customer a toll fee for the use of their manufacturing assets. There is no chemistry development by the toller, with the customer providing a turnkey technical package and support.
- Their responsibility is to operate within procedures or process conditions provided by the customer, with the customer being responsible for chemistry performance.
- Typically, the customer supplies the raw materials, packaging and material requirements planning, although exceptions can be made for these on a case-by-case basis.
- They will not usually own the finished product intellectual property, but instead manufacture chemicals for customers without the necessary capacity or expertise.
- They may consider their sales offering to be “process IP.”
- Sales contracts may be of short or long-term duration.
Custom chemical producer: A company that provides support on any scale for chemistry that is designed for an individual customer
- Their customers have new products, with processes that are not fully developed. Critical processes will be needed such as organometallic and high pressure.
- They may have share in intellectual properties and raw materials. Almost always, these are covered by non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s) and produced for a specific customer.
- If their customer owns the finished product intellectual property, they may require their services because they do not have the in-house synthesis capabilities needed.
- Some customer chemical producers may only do custom work, while others may do a mix of custom work and proprietary products (based on their own intellectual property) that are sold to downstream customers as common raw materials.
Proprietary chemical producer: A company that combines various raw materials into their production process IP and sells finished goods to a downstream customer based on their IP and skills, unique intermediate capabilities, or ability to handle certain raw materials
- They have a competitive advantage/expertise that the customer does not have, with their intellectual property considered as a marketable asset.
- They sell either a molecule for which they own the intellectual property or, in the case of formulated products, a solution to a problem using a formula that they own, often across numerous industries.
- They may perform custom work because they have process capabilities that others need and value, although it may not be their primary business model.

PRODUCT APPLICATIONS

Specialty chemistry impacts every part of our lives, from our personal care products to our electronics and the cars we drive.

Did you know that seawater can be used in agriculture? LANXESS’s Lewabrane Reverse Osmosis membrane elements desalinate seawater to irrigate crops.
Strem Chemicals manufactures an active pharmaceutical ingredient that is formulated into an injectable drug to combat cancer.
Deepwater Chemicals, Inc., produces hydriodic acid and iodine. These are highly effective ingredients in teat dips, which prevent mastitis in dairy cows.
LANXESS makes an antioxidant, Vulkanox, which prevents creams from oxidizing when exposed to air, thus extending the shelf life of moisturizers.
Iodine chemicals are used in a range of everyday products including: catalysts for paint coatings, antiseptic scrubs for surgery, polarizers in LCD screens, nylon fibers/carpets, lenses for nuclear medicine and computer chip production.
How do we improve the durability of car tires? LANXESS makes Vulkacit, an additive that extends the shelf life of rubber.
Deepwater Chemicals, Inc., produces potassium iodide, a heat stabilizer utilized in nylon 66 production, which is used in manufacturing carpets, tire cords and plastics.
Biomedical Applications – Polysciences, Inc., supplies high purity acrylic monomers used in Class II-III implantable medical devices such as intraocular lenses, cardiovascular stents and meshes.
Monument Chemical manufactures polyether polyols used in products such as bowling balls.
Buna CB polybutadiene rubber, a synthetic rubber made by LANXESS, is used in the high-quality cores of golf balls, making the ball fly further than those made with conventional rubber.

WHAT IS SPECIALTY CHEMISTRY?

Manufacturing Specialty Chemicals

Types of specialty manufacturers

Toller: A company that sells its manufacturing capabilities

Custom chemical producer: A company that provides support on any scale for chemistry that is designed for an individual customer

Proprietary chemical producer: A company that combines various raw materials into their production process IP and sells finished goods to a downstream customer based on their IP and skills, unique intermediate capabilities, or ability to handle certain raw materials

PRODUCT APPLICATIONS