Chemistry is the science of molecules, their properties, their composition, their synthesis and transformation. The discipline of chemistry is grouped into different areas, such as inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, agrochemistry and food chemistry.
Scientific findings form the basis for the activities of the chemical industry. The activities are mainly centred around the chemical transformation of diverse base materials into substances with new chemical, physical and biological properties. The chemical industry can roughly be seen as two general categories: base and specialty chemistry, the latter including the pharmaceutical industry. Base chemistry uses primarily petroleum, but also minerals and metals as starting materials to produce fairly basic chemicals in large quantities. The specialty chemistry manufactures a wide variety of high-grade, high-value products for application in different areas. |
