Fine Chemical Manufacturing

Fine Chemicals are complicated, pure chemical substances produced in the stipulated quantity by well-known fine chemical manufacturer who has the facility to manufacture the same. They are produced by a multi-step batch process or by biotechnological processes. A fine chemical company manufactures these chemicals, which are inputs for various other industries. Such chemicals are divided into classes depending upon their utility. They are called building blocks, advanced intermediaries or active ingredients based on the value they add or standard and exclusive products based on the type of business transaction conducted in their trading. Such chemicals are manufactured only when there is an order from a business undertaking.

The development of the fine chemicals industry dates back to the 1970s when the tremendous success of chemicals like Histamine H2, Tagamet and Zantac created a strong demand for advanced organic chemicals in the industry. After that there was no looking back. The company, which had manufactured the above chemicals, received so many orders for the manufacture of these chemicals that they had to outsource some of their operations to other companies who could manufacture similar products. This was how the chemical industry came into being and the signature of the first, simple supply contract marks the beginning of the fine chemical industry.

In terms of molecular structure, the chemicals are classified into low molecular weight and high molecular weight products. Those products, which had a molecular weight of 700 and above, were classified under high molecular weight products, which the others were put under low molecular weight. The latter are manufactured by traditional chemical synthesis, while biotechnology processes mainly produce the former. The division of these products is based on their molecular size. Low molecular weight products have small molecules while high molecular weight ones have large molecules. It will not be wrong to say that these products are the building blocks of complex chemical substances, which in turn are used as raw materials by various industries.

There are several key technologies, which are used in the manufacture of fine chemicals. Chemical synthesis is one of the technologies. Either this is done from petrochemical-based raw materials or natural product extracts. For small molecules, biotechnology is used and for big molecules, cell culture technology is used. Some other technologies are extraction from other living organisms like animals and hydrolysis of proteins. Of these techniques, chemical synthesis and biotechnology are the most widely used processes for the manufacture of fine chemicals.