Dimethylethanolamine (DMEA) CAS 108-01-0

What is Dimethylethanolamine (DMEA)?

Dimethylethanolamine is a tertiary alkanolamine — two methyl groups and one hydroxyethyl arm on a single nitrogen, (CH₃)₂NCH₂CH₂OH. With no N-H bond it cannot be acylated into a product, so it works as a catalyst, a base and a reactive building block through its hydroxyl rather than its nitrogen.

It is a clear, colourless liquid boiling at about 134 °C with a strong fishy ammoniacal odour and a flash point near 39 °C — flammable, though not as volatile as the alkylamines. It is fully miscible with water and hygroscopic.

Two properties define its commercial position. First, it is a tertiary amine, so it catalyses the isocyanate reaction and cannot form a nitrosamine. Second, it is volatile enough to leave a coating film during cure while still being a usable liquid at ambient — which is precisely what a waterborne coating neutraliser has to be.

Commercially, DMEA has three substantial markets: polyurethane foam catalysis, neutralisation of acid-functional resins in waterborne coatings and inks, and as the amine half of dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, the monomer behind cationic flocculants used across water and wastewater treatment. It is also used directly as a boiler water neutralising amine.

Why dimethylethanolamine specifically

• Volatile enough to leave the film. In a waterborne coating it neutralises the resin to make it dispersible, then evaporates during cure so it is not left behind — which a less volatile amine would be.
• Tertiary amine catalysis. Catalyses the isocyanate-polyol reaction with a gelling bias, and appears across flexible and rigid foam catalyst packages.
• No N-H, so no nitrosamine. Cannot be nitrosated directly, which matters increasingly in water treatment and consumer-adjacent formulations.
• A reactive hydroxyl. The alcohol end esterifies and quaternises, which is how it becomes the methacrylate monomer behind cationic flocculants.

How DMEA is Manufactured

Dimethylethanolamine is made by ethoxylating dimethylamine. The reaction is clean because the product is tertiary and cannot react further at the nitrogen.

• Ethoxylation of dimethylamine. Aqueous dimethylamine is reacted with ethylene oxide at modest temperature and pressure. Because the product has no N-H, it cannot take up a second molecule of ethylene oxide at the nitrogen — which makes this a cleaner reaction than the ethanolamine or NMEA routes.
• Side reactions. The hydroxyl can still be ethoxylated under forcing conditions to give glycol ether adducts, so conditions are controlled to limit that. Residual dimethylamine is the other species to manage.
• Separation. Excess dimethylamine is stripped and recycled and water removed, then the product is purified by distillation.
• Finishing. The product is dried to specification and filled with nitrogen blanketing where colour and water matter — coating grades in particular.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of standard commercial grade. Coating-grade and low-colour grades with tighter dimethylamine and water limits are available — send us the specification you work to and we will quote against it.

Physical & Chemical Properties

Reactivity in practice

No N-H at the nitrogen, one reactive hydroxyl. DMEA works on reactions through its nitrogen and joins them through its oxygen:

• Polyurethane catalysis. The tertiary nitrogen catalyses the isocyanate-polyol reaction with a gelling bias, used in flexible and rigid foam catalyst packages.
• Resin neutralisation. Neutralises carboxyl-functional acrylic and alkyd resins to make them water-dispersible, then evaporates during cure.
• Esterification at the hydroxyl. Transesterified with methyl methacrylate it gives dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, the monomer behind cationic flocculants.
• Quaternisation. Alkylation at the nitrogen gives quaternary ammonium compounds used as surfactants, biocides and flocculant monomers.

DMEA vs DEEA, NMEA and MEA

The substituted ethanolamines are all built from an amine plus ethylene oxide, and they differ in how many alkyl groups sit on the nitrogen and how many hydroxyethyl arms. That count decides three things at once: how basic the molecule is, whether it still has an N-H, and how volatile it is — and those three between them determine almost every application.

Stated plainly: NMEA keeps one N-H, so it is a building block that gets incorporated into products and carries the nitrosamine consideration common to secondary amines. DMEA and DEEA have none, so they act as catalysts and bases rather than becoming part of the product — and the practical choice between those two usually comes down to volatility, with DMEA flashing off faster and DEEA persisting further into a system. MEA sits apart as the primary amine with two reactive hydrogens and the chemistry that follows from them.

Industries We Supply DMEA To

The same molecule leaves our warehouse for very different factories. What changes between them is not the CAS number but the grade — residual dimethylamine and colour in particular — and the documentation each sector expects.

Where DMEA is Used

DMEA has three substantial markets that have little to do with one another. These are the end uses our customers buy it for, roughly in order of volume.

In waterborne coatings

This is the application where DMEA's properties line up most precisely. An acid-functional acrylic or alkyd resin is not water-dispersible until the carboxyl groups are neutralised, and the amine used to do that has to meet two conflicting requirements: it must be a usable, stable liquid in the can, and it must leave the film during cure so it does not compromise water resistance afterwards. DMEA sits at the right volatility to do both. Residual dimethylamine is the specification that matters here, because it is far more pungent than DMEA and even a small amount dominates the odour of the finished paint.

In polyurethane foam

Tertiary amines catalyse the isocyanate-polyol reaction, and the choice of amine sets the balance between the gelling reaction that builds polymer and the blowing reaction that generates gas. DMEA has a gelling bias and appears in catalyst packages for both flexible and rigid systems, usually in blends. Its hydroxyl group means it can also react into the polymer rather than remaining free, which reduces amine emissions from the finished foam — a growing requirement in automotive interiors.

As flocculant monomer feedstock

Transesterifying DMEA with methyl methacrylate gives dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, which is polymerised or copolymerised with acrylamide and quaternised to make the cationic flocculants used in municipal and industrial water treatment, sludge dewatering and paper retention. This is a large and growing outlet, and it places DMEA upstream of a substantial part of the water treatment chemical industry.

In boiler and condensate treatment

DMEA is used directly as a volatile neutralising amine, raising condensate pH to control carbonic acid corrosion. Its distribution ratio places it between morpholine and cyclohexylamine, which is useful in blends. Where steam contacts food, feed or pharmaceutical product, the treatment chemical must be approved for that service at destination.

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 residual dimethylamine — gas chromatography, with the free dimethylamine figure reported explicitly. It is the specification most customers actually care about.
• Amine value — titration, the figure coating formulators calculate neutralisation against.
• Water content — Karl Fischer titration, which matters in isocyanate systems and in transesterification.
• Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard. Colour carries into clear and pale coatings directly.
• Distillation range — a fast check for dimethylamine and glycol ether adduct carry-over.
• Odour check — a simple sensory comparison against a retained standard. For coating and foam customers this catches free dimethylamine faster than an instrument does.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When DMEA 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. 180 kg net in lined steel or HDPE drums, with 1000 L IBCs for larger users.
• Bulk packing. Road tankers and ISO tank containers for coating, foam and flocculant producers.
• Inert blanketing. Nitrogen-blanketed at fill where colour and water matter, which covers most coating-grade material.
• Odour management. DMEA and particularly any free dimethylamine are detectable at low concentration. Route vents and drum-breathing points to carbon or acid scrubbing in a warehouse where it will be noticed.
• 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.
• Fire precautions. The flash point is near 39 °C, so a warm store or heated transfer can bring the headspace into the flammable range. Classify the zone accordingly.
• Transport classification. UN 2051, Dimethylethanolamine, Class 8 corrosive with subsidiary risk 3 flammable, Packing Group II — shipped with full dangerous-goods documentation.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Dimethylethanolamine is corrosive and flammable, and must 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 under local exhaust ventilation or in a closed system. Both vapour and skin contact are meaningful routes with this product.
• PPE. Chemical-resistant gloves, chemical goggles and face shield, chemical-resistant clothing, and respiratory protection suited to the task.
• Ignition control. The flash point is near 39 °C, so a warm process area or heated transfer line can put the headspace into the flammable range. Keep away from heat and ignition sources and classify the zone accordingly.
• Incompatibilities. Strong oxidising agents, strong acids, acid chlorides, isocyanates, and copper, brass, bronze and aluminium equipment.
• Spill response. Eliminate ignition sources and ventilate. Contain, absorb with inert non-combustible material and collect in a labelled closed container. Do not wash to drain.
• Environment. Do not allow to enter drains, surface water or groundwater. Dispose through a licensed chemical waste contractor.
• Fire. Flammable. Use alcohol-resistant foam, dry chemical or carbon dioxide; cool exposed containers with water spray. Decomposition releases nitrogen oxides — use self-contained breathing apparatus.
• First aid. Move to fresh air, remove contaminated clothing immediately, wash skin with plenty of water, flush eyes for at least 15 minutes, and seek medical attention with the SDS to hand.

Regulatory & Compliance Notes

Dimethylethanolamine is a long-established industrial chemical and is listed on the major national chemical inventories. Because obligations differ by territory, volume and use, 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.
• Coating VOC rules. Whether a neutralising amine counts toward the volatile organic compound content of a coating depends on the definition in force at destination, and the definitions differ. Confirm the treatment of DMEA in your target market before formulating to a VOC limit.
• Steam that contacts food or feed. Where DMEA is used in boiler water producing steam that contacts food, feed or pharmaceutical product, the treatment chemical must be approved for that service at destination.
• Nitrosamine position. DMEA is tertiary and cannot be nitrosated directly. Residual dimethylamine is secondary and can, so where a nitrosamine limit applies, the free dimethylamine figure is the one to control.
• Dangerous goods. UN 2051, Dimethylethanolamine, Class 8 with subsidiary risk 3, Packing Group II. Declarations prepared for IMDG (sea) or IATA (air) as appropriate.

We Supply DMEA Worldwide

Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Dimethylethanolamine (DMEA) 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 DMEA from Chelora

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For DMEA that means one question above all others: what free dimethylamine limit does your end product need? A coating or foam customer and a flocculant monomer producer will give very different answers, and it decides which material is suitable.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA including free dimethylamine, current SDS and TDS with the consignment.
• Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for formulation qualification ahead of a commercial order.
• Quantities. From a single 180 kg drum through to repeat tank loads on contract supply.
• Export experience. Class 8 dangerous-goods documentation, packing and labelling handled for sea and road freight.
• Technical support. Direct access to people who know the chemistry, for questions on amine value, odour control or catalyst blending.
• Related intermediates. DEEA, NMEA, MEA, dimethylamine, N-methylmorpholine and the wider amine 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 Catalyst & Alkanolamine Intermediates

Buyers of DMEA 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.