4. How are Specialty Chemicals Designed and Produced?

This made seem like an incredibly complicated business to an 'outsider' who isn't familiar with chemical processes. To the chemists who design and produce specialty chemicals, it's second nature. Chemists have the background knowledge-the understanding of all the different properties of each element-that allows them to design specialty chemicals that have the desired properties.

With knowledge of the different chemical and physical properties of elements and molecules, specialty chemists can design and produce chemicals that are inert and non-reactive at high temperatures, chemicals that repel water or dirt, that are used as lubricants, or as pharmaceutical drugs. The key is that the designer understands how to combine elements and chemicals to come up with a finished product with the chemical and physical properties that are needed.