Triethanolamine CAS 102-71-6

What is Triethanolamine?

Triethanolamine is the fully substituted member of the ethanolamine family — a tertiary amine carrying three hydroxyethyl groups, N(CH₂CH₂OH)₃. Having no N-H bond at all, it behaves quite differently from its relatives, and the difference is not subtle.

It is a viscous, almost syrupy, colourless to pale-yellow liquid, boiling above 330 °C with decomposition and freezing at around 21 °C. That freezing point sits awkwardly close to room temperature, which is the main reason the 85% aqueous grade exists: it stays comfortably liquid where the 99% grade will set in a cool warehouse.

It is strongly hygroscopic and fully miscible with water. Being a tertiary amine it cannot form a carbamate with carbon dioxide, so it has no role as a bulk acid-gas absorbent — but it is still a base, and its three hydroxyls make it an excellent emulsifier precursor and metal-complexing agent.

Commercially, TEA's largest market is one most people never think about: cement. Added at very low dosage to a cement mill, it improves grinding efficiency and strength development, and the global cement industry consumes it in substantial quantity. Beyond that it is the base behind triethanolamine soaps used as emulsifiers across personal care and industrial formulation, an alkalinity source in metalworking fluids, and a salt-forming base for agrochemicals.

Why triethanolamine specifically

• No N-H, so no carbamate. It cannot absorb carbon dioxide the way MEA and DEA do, which removes it from bulk gas treating and frees it for uses where that reactivity would be a nuisance.
• Three hydroxyls for complexing and emulsifying. The triol structure chelates metal ions and, neutralised with a fatty acid, gives the TEA soaps that stabilise a great many emulsions.
• Very low volatility. It boils above 330 °C and barely evaporates, so it stays in a formulation rather than flashing off — the opposite of a volatile neutralising amine.
• Proven cement performance. At dosages measured in hundredths of a percent it measurably improves mill throughput and early strength — an unusually high-leverage application.

How TEA is Manufactured

Triethanolamine is made alongside MEA and DEA by reacting ethylene oxide with ammonia. A plant configured for TEA runs the lowest ammonia ratio of the three.

• Ethoxylation of ammonia. Aqueous ammonia is reacted with ethylene oxide. Each ethanolamine formed competes for the next molecule of ethylene oxide, so with a low ammonia ratio the reaction runs onward to the tri product.
• Ratio control. TEA is favoured by a low ammonia-to-ethylene-oxide ratio. Because the distribution is set by stoichiometry rather than catalyst selectivity, producers swing between the three products rather than making one exclusively.
• Ammonia and water removal. Excess ammonia is stripped and recycled and water evaporated.
• Vacuum distillation and colour control. The three are separated under vacuum. TEA is the highest-boiling and therefore the most thermally stressed, which is why colour is the specification that most distinguishes one producer's TEA from another's.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of 99% commercial grade. The 85% low-freeze grade, low-colour and cosmetic grades are available — send us the specification you work to and we will quote against it.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Reactivity in practice

No N-H, three hydroxyls, and a weakly basic nitrogen. That combination defines its chemistry:

• Soap and salt formation. Neutralised with a fatty acid it gives TEA soaps — among the most widely used emulsifiers in personal care and industrial formulation. With other acids it gives soluble salts.
• Metal complexation. The nitrogen and three hydroxyls chelate transition metals, which underlies its use in cement chemistry, in cleaning formulations and as a sequestrant.
• Esterification at the hydroxyls. The three primary alcohols esterify and alkoxylate to give esteramines, esterquats and specialty surfactants.
• pH buffering. As a weak, non-volatile base it adjusts and holds pH in formulations without flashing off the way a volatile amine would.

Triethanolamine vs Monoethanolamine and Diethanolamine

The three ethanolamines come off the same reactor and are separated by distillation, so they are routinely quoted together and routinely confused. Each additional hydroxyethyl group on the nitrogen raises the boiling point and the viscosity, lowers the basicity, and removes one N-H bond — and that last point decides most of the chemistry.

Stated plainly: monoethanolamine reacts fastest and strips hardest, which is why it dominates bulk carbon dioxide removal and why it costs the most energy to regenerate. Diethanolamine sits between the two and carries the nitrosamine consideration that follows every secondary amine. Triethanolamine has no N-H at all, so it cannot form a carbamate and acts as a base, an emulsifier precursor and a cement additive rather than as a bulk acid-gas absorbent. They are not interchangeable, and in gas treating the choice between them is a plant design decision.

Industries We Supply TEA To

The same molecule leaves our warehouse for very different factories. What changes between them is not the CAS number but the grade — 99% or 85%, standard or low colour — and the documentation each sector expects.

Where TEA is Used

TEA's largest market is one most people never think about. These are the end uses our customers buy it for, roughly in order of volume.

In cement grinding aids

This is TEA's largest application and the least visible. Grinding clinker into cement is enormously energy-intensive, and fine particles tend to agglomerate and coat the grinding media, which reduces mill efficiency. TEA adsorbs onto the fresh fracture surfaces and prevents that agglomeration, improving throughput for the same energy input. Separately, it complexes with the aluminate and ferrite phases and accelerates early strength development. Dosage is measured in hundredths of a percent on cement weight, which makes this an unusually high-leverage additive — and makes consistency more important than absolute purity.

In emulsifiers and personal care

Neutralising a fatty acid such as stearic acid with TEA gives a TEA soap, and those soaps are among the most widely used emulsifiers in creams, lotions and industrial emulsions. TEA also sets pH in cosmetic formulations, where its non-volatility is an advantage over an amine that would evaporate. Colour is a genuine specification in this sector: standard TEA is visibly yellow against a low-colour grade, and in a white cream that difference is apparent to the end customer. Formulators should also note that cosmetic use of ethanolamines is subject to limits and conditions in several territories.

In metalworking fluids

A water-based cutting fluid needs alkalinity to resist bacterial growth and protect the workpiece and machine from corrosion, and it needs emulsifiers to keep oil dispersed. TEA contributes both, and its alkalinity reserve is more persistent than that of a volatile amine. It has also gained share in this sector as formulators moved away from diethanolamine over the nitrosamine question — though TEA's own position in nitrosating environments is worth assessing rather than assuming.

In agrochemical formulation

Several herbicide actives are acids with poor water solubility. Neutralising them with TEA gives water-soluble amine salts that can be formulated as sprayable concentrates. The chemistry is straightforward neutralisation, so what matters on the certificate is assay, water content and colour rather than anything exotic.

Quality Control & Testing

Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis. The methods behind the numbers are standard across the industry, and we are happy to share them or to work to your own in-house test protocol.

• Assay and ethanolamine distribution — gas chromatography, quantifying DEA and MEA carry-over alongside the main component.
• Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard, and the specification that most distinguishes TEA grades. Colour is set by thermal history in manufacture and then drifts further on air contact in storage.
• Water content — Karl Fischer titration, which also distinguishes the 99% and 85% grades.
• Freezing point — a practical check that confirms which grade you have received before it matters in a cold warehouse.
• Iron and chloride — relevant in metalworking fluids and in any application where metal staining or corrosion matters.
• Specific gravity and viscosity — quick practical checks correlating with water content and grade.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When TEA misbehaves in a plant, the cause is usually one of a short list of things. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.

Packaging, Storage & Shipping

• Standard packing. 250 kg net in lined steel or HDPE drums, with 1000 L IBCs for larger users.
• Grade choice. The 99% grade freezes at about 21 °C; the 85% aqueous grade stays liquid well below zero. In most climates and most warehouses the 85% grade removes a handling problem for the cost of shipping some water.
• Bulk packing. Road tankers and ISO tank containers for cement additive producers and continuous users.
• Viscosity. TEA is syrupy at room temperature and pumps slowly when cold. Allow for it in line sizing and pump selection, or warm before transfer.
• Materials of construction. Stainless steel or suitable lined vessels. Carbon steel is used in some service but corrodes more readily when the amine is hot or loaded with acid gas. Avoid copper, brass, bronze and aluminium.
• Oxygen exclusion. The ethanolamines oxidise and darken on air contact, particularly when warm. Nitrogen blanketing is standard for colour-sensitive grades and for any heated storage.
• Shelf life. Typically 12 months in unopened original packing under those conditions. Beyond that, re-test rather than assume.
• Transport classification. Triethanolamine is generally not classified as dangerous goods for transport, though it is classified for supply. Confirm the position against the current SDS for your destination and mode before booking.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Triethanolamine is an eye irritant and a mild skin irritant, and is among the gentler amines to handle — but it should still be handled by trained personnel under a proper risk assessment. The classifications below are indicative; the current SDS supplied with your consignment is the governing document.

• Exposure control. Handle with general and local ventilation. Vapour pressure is negligible at ambient, so inhalation exposure is minimal except where the material is heated or sprayed; skin and eye contact are the realistic routes.
• PPE. Chemical-resistant gloves and eye protection. The hazard profile is milder than the other ethanolamines, but repeated skin contact should still be avoided.
• Hot material. Where TEA is heated to reduce viscosity, mist and thermal burn risk increase. Treat heated transfer as a separate operation.
• Nitrosating environments. TEA is a tertiary amine and does not nitrosate directly, but in formulations containing nitrosating agents the broader amine nitrosamine question is still worth a deliberate assessment. Several cosmetic regimes address this explicitly.
• Incompatibilities. Strong oxidising agents, strong acids, acid chlorides, and copper, brass, bronze and aluminium equipment.
• Spill response. Contain, absorb with inert material and collect in a labelled closed container. The liquid is viscous and slippery on hard surfaces — clean thoroughly.
• Environment. Harmful to aquatic life. Do not allow to enter drains, surface water or groundwater. Dispose through a licensed chemical waste contractor.
• First aid. Wash skin with plenty of water, flush eyes for at least 15 minutes, and seek medical attention with the SDS to hand if irritation persists.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Triethanolamine is a long-established industrial chemical and is listed on the major national chemical inventories. Because obligations differ by territory, volume and use — and because cosmetic use is regulated separately — the notes below are orientation rather than legal advice. Confirm your own position with your regulatory adviser before importing.

• Inventory status. Listed on the principal chemical inventories in the major importing regions. Ask us for the inventory confirmation relevant to your destination country.
• Import registration. Several territories require the importer to hold a registration or notification before a consignment lands. Start that process early — it is the most common cause of delay at destination.
• Hazard communication. Supplied with an SDS compliant with the format applicable to your region, and labelled in line with the GHS classification for the product.
• Cosmetic use. Ethanolamine use in cosmetics is subject to concentration limits and conditions in several territories, including requirements relating to nitrosating agents. The rules differ between the mono, di and tri products, so confirm the position for triethanolamine specifically and for your product category.
• Cement additive declarations. Where TEA is used in a cement grinding aid, the finished additive may need declaration or approval under construction product rules at destination. That attaches to the additive rather than the raw material, but plan the documentation into the project.
• Transport. Generally not classified as dangerous goods for transport, though classified for supply. Confirm against the current SDS for your destination and mode.

We Supply TEA Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Triethanolamine from India to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation, dangerous-goods paperwork and freight so the material arrives ready to use.

• Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
• Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with other Indian ports arranged where it suits the routing.
• Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA, SDS and dangerous-goods declaration issued as a complete set.
• Flexible volumes. A single drum for laboratory qualification, through LCL consolidations, up to repeat full loads on a supply contract.
• Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a plant turnaround or a shipping disruption at one source does not have to become your stock-out.

Buying TEA from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For TEA that means settling two things before quoting: which grade suits your storage temperature, and what colour your finished product can tolerate. Those two questions resolve most TEA specifications entirely.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA, current SDS and TDS issued with the consignment, not weeks afterward.
• Multiple grades. 99% and 85% low-freeze, plus low-colour and cosmetic grades.
• Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for process qualification ahead of a commercial order.
• Quantities. From a single 250 kg drum through to repeat tank loads on contract supply.
• Export experience. Full documentation, packing and labelling handled for sea and road freight to any destination.
• Related intermediates. MEA, DEA, the isopropanolamines including TIPA, and the wider alkanolamine range from one supplier.

How ordering works

• Send the enquiry. Product, grade or specification, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
• We quote. Price, lead time, packing and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
• Sample and qualify. For first orders or critical applications, we send a trial quantity so your lab can sign off before you commit.
• Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
• Production and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with a pre-shipment sample where the application calls for it.
• Ship and document. Packed, labelled and loaded with the full export and dangerous-goods document set, and tracked through to arrival.

Related Alkanolamines & Intermediates

Buyers of TEA usually source several of these alongside it. Consolidating them on one order cuts freight cost and gives you a single point of contact for documentation.