Industrial crystallization for fine chemicals

Abstract The manufacture of products based on fine chemicals is a massive global industry and has a major benefit to society. Almost all of these products require a crystallization of some kind in their manufacture and, whilst there is already a large pool of knowledge and a good array of techniques available for crystallization process development, as novel products become more complex, the crystallization process becomes more challenging. New knowledge and new techniques are required, particularly with respect to controlling polymorphic form, crystal shape, size distribution and surface properties. A number of developments in the industry are discussed, and a number of examples of real problems used to illustrate the need for basic scientific understanding to resolve them, and to move forward to more challenging processing and novel products, in an area of science which is truly interdisciplinary.