Chemical and material processing services services modify chemicals and materials and offer a wide range of services. Examples include product formulation, compounding, and synthesis; chemical, material, and powder processing; inspection and analytical testing; process optimization; and research and development. Some companies develop, license, or sell specialized process technologies. Others provide training or consulting services. Warehouse, storage, distribution, sourcing, and logistics services are commonly available. Chemical and material processing services that provide access to trial facilities allow customers to evaluate or prove processes or equipment before making major capital expenditures. These companies may supply trained personnel to operate processing equipment, or rent or lease their facilities to customers who provide their own personnel. 

Chemical and material processing services vary in terms of capabilities. Technologies include acylation and alkylation, atomization and powder production, blending and mixing, calendering, coating, compacting and conversion, compounding, condensation and cooling, crystallization, and distillation. Some companies perform drying and freeze drying, esterification, evaporation, fermentation and biotransformations, or filtration and extraction. Others perform granulation and agglomeration, formulation, halogenation such as fluorination and chlorination, hydroformylation and formylation, or hydrogenation. Heat treatment, milling and size reduction, packing and encapsulation, polymerization, and recycling and reclamation services are available. Reduction, oxidation, organometallic and Grignard reactions are used in a variety of processes. Processing technologies include melting and spheroidization, refinement and purification, screening and grading, treatment and decontamination, and ultraviolet (UV) and photochemical processing.  

Chemical and material processing services services modify chemicals and materials and offer a wide range of services. Examples include product formulation, compounding, and synthesis; chemical, material, and powder processing; inspection and analytical testing; process optimization; and research and development. Some companies develop, license, or sell specialized process technologies. Others provide training or consulting services. Warehouse, storage, distribution, sourcing, and logistics services are commonly available. Chemical and material processing services that provide access to trial facilities allow customers to evaluate or prove processes or equipment before making major capital expenditures. These companies may supply trained personnel to operate processing equipment, or rent or lease their facilities to customers who provide their own personnel. 

Chemical and material processing services vary in terms of capabilities. Technologies include acylation and alkylation, atomization and powder production, blending and mixing, calendering, coating, compacting and conversion, compounding, condensation and cooling, crystallization, and distillation. Some companies perform drying and freeze drying, esterification, evaporation, fermentation and biotransformations, or filtration and extraction. Others perform granulation and agglomeration, formulation, halogenation such as fluorination and chlorination, hydroformylation and formylation, or hydrogenation. Heat treatment, milling and size reduction, packing and encapsulation, polymerization, and recycling and reclamation services are available. Reduction, oxidation, organometallic and Grignard reactions are used in a variety of processes. Processing technologies include melting and spheroidization, refinement and purification, screening and grading, treatment and decontamination, and ultraviolet (UV) and photochemical processing.  

Chemical manufacturing and material processing services handle materials in the form of liquids, powders, nanomaterials, bulk solids, granules, webs, and continuous stock. Product types include abrasives, adhesives and sealants, carbon and graphite, ceramics, coatings and paint, elastomers and rubber, glass, metals and minerals, nuclear materials, plastics, paper and paper pulp, semiconductor materials, textiles, waste and scrap materials, and wood products.  Chemical manufacturing and material processing services also modify chemicals and chemical products such acetylenes, alcohols, biochemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), catalysts and initiators, chemical agents and additives, cleaners and surface active agents, coolants and refrigerants, and cosmetic soaps. Chemical products include fillers and extenders, gases and liquid gases, organic and inorganic chemicals, lubricants and greases, monomers and intermediates, drugs and pharmaceuticals, pigments and dyes, and polymers, reagents, and solvents. 

Important specifications for chemical manufacturing and material processing services include volume-based capacity, mass-based capacity, and run and batch size. Laboratory or benchtop scale facilities feature processing capacities that do not exceed a few pounds or a few gallons. Pilot scale is a small-scale production process that is larger than laboratory scale and used to develop a subsequent full-scale process. Typically, pilot scale quantities are in the range of several drums or hundreds of pounds or gallons; however, quantities vary with the density and type of processed material, chemical or product. Pilot scale facilities are better than laboratory scale facilities at simulating production processes and can be used for troubleshooting, improving and optimizing processes. Some chemical manufacturing and material processing services offer commercial, production or industrial scale processing facilities. Typically, production lots are in the range of thousands of gallons or pounds.

Chemical manufacturing and material processing services are located across the United States and throughout the world. They provide several types of certifications. AS 9001 is a set of quality guidelines and requirements published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in cooperation with major aerospace manufacturers. ISO 9001:2000 establishes requirements for company quality management systems.  ISO certifications such as ISO 14001 are also available. QS 9000 is a quality standard for suppliers of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors Corporation. Some processing services comply with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) or are registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Other organizations comply with military specifications (MIL-SPEC).