Diethylethanolamine (DEEA) CAS 100-37-8

What is Diethylethanolamine (DEEA)?

Diethylethanolamine is a tertiary alkanolamine — two ethyl groups and one hydroxyethyl arm on a single nitrogen, (C₂H₅)₂NCH₂CH₂OH. It is the ethyl homologue of DMEA, and the difference between the two comes down almost entirely to volatility.

It is a clear, colourless liquid boiling at about 161 °C with a fishy ammoniacal odour and a flash point near 52 °C. That is noticeably less volatile than DMEA, and in the applications where both compete, that single property usually decides which one is used.

It is fully miscible with water and hygroscopic, with no N-H bond on the nitrogen — so it acts as a base and a catalyst rather than as a building block through the nitrogen, while the hydroxyl remains fully reactive for esterification.

Commercially, DEEA has two distinct lives. In water treatment it is one of the standard volatile neutralising amines, with a distribution ratio that places it usefully between morpholine and cyclohexylamine. In pharmaceutical synthesis it is the alcohol half of a family of local anaesthetic and antiarrhythmic esters, where the diethylaminoethyl group is part of the molecule's identity. It is also a polyurethane catalyst and a textile and ion-exchange intermediate.

Why diethylethanolamine specifically

• A middle distribution ratio. In a steam system it partitions between vapour and condensate more evenly than morpholine or cyclohexylamine, so it protects the middle of a circuit that the other two leave thin.
• The diethylaminoethyl ester group. Esterified with an aromatic acid it gives the local anaesthetic structure that defines a whole drug family — a role no other alkanolamine fills.
• Tertiary, so not nitrosatable. No N-H bond, which removes the nitrosamine consideration that applies to secondary alkanolamines.
• Less volatile than DMEA. Where DMEA flashes off too readily — in a longer condensate run, or a slower-curing coating — DEEA persists.

How DEEA is Manufactured

Diethylethanolamine is made by ethoxylating diethylamine. As with DMEA, the reaction is relatively clean because the product is tertiary and cannot react further at the nitrogen.

• Ethoxylation of diethylamine. Aqueous diethylamine is reacted with ethylene oxide at modest temperature and pressure. The product has no N-H, so it cannot take up a second molecule of ethylene oxide at the nitrogen.
• Side reactions. The hydroxyl can be ethoxylated further under forcing conditions to give glycol ether adducts, so conditions are controlled to limit that. Residual diethylamine is the other species to manage.
• Separation. Excess diethylamine 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 — pharmaceutical grades in particular.

Typical Commercial Specification

Figures below are representative of standard commercial grade. Boiler-treatment and pharmaceutical grades with tighter diethylamine, water and metals 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. DEEA acts through its nitrogen and reacts through its oxygen:

• Esterification at the hydroxyl. Reaction with aromatic acids and acid chlorides gives diethylaminoethyl esters — the structural core of a family of local anaesthetic and antiarrhythmic drugs.
• Neutralisation in steam systems. As a volatile base it raises condensate pH and controls carbonic acid corrosion, with a distribution ratio that suits the middle of a condensate circuit.
• Polyurethane catalysis. The tertiary nitrogen catalyses the isocyanate-polyol reaction, used in foam and elastomer catalyst packages.
• Quaternisation. Alkylation at the nitrogen gives quaternary ammonium compounds used in ion-exchange resins, textile auxiliaries and antistatic agents.

DEEA vs DMEA, 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 DEEA To

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

Where DEEA is Used

DEEA divides between water treatment volume and pharmaceutical value. These are the end uses our customers buy it for, roughly in order of volume.

In boiler and condensate treatment

Carbon dioxide carried over with steam dissolves in condensate to form carbonic acid, which attacks return lines from inside. Neutralising amines fix this by travelling with the steam and raising pH wherever condensate forms. The variable that decides where each amine works is its distribution ratio — how it partitions between vapour and liquid. Cyclohexylamine's high ratio carries it to the far ends of long returns; morpholine's low ratio keeps it near the boiler; DEEA sits between them and covers the middle. Three-way blends are common precisely because no single amine protects a whole circuit.

In pharmaceutical synthesis

The diethylaminoethyl ester is a recurring motif in medicinal chemistry, most famously in a family of local anaesthetics built by esterifying an aminobenzoic acid with DEEA, and in related antiarrhythmic structures. Here DEEA is not a process aid but part of the molecule, which puts the specification burden squarely on it: residual diethylamine is especially unwelcome because it attacks the acylating agent to give an amide rather than the intended ester, producing a genuinely different compound that then has to be purged.

In polyurethane systems

As a tertiary amine it catalyses the isocyanate-polyol reaction, and its hydroxyl allows it to react into the polymer rather than remaining free — which reduces amine emissions from the finished part. It is less volatile than DMEA, which changes the cure profile and the emission behaviour, so the two are selected rather than substituted.

In ion-exchange and textile chemistry

Quaternising DEEA onto a polymer backbone gives anion exchange functionality, and the same chemistry applied to fibre and fabric treatment gives softeners and antistatic agents. These are lower-value outlets than pharmaceutical use but steady, and they are generally less demanding on the diethylamine specification.

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 diethylamine — gas chromatography with the free diethylamine figure reported explicitly. It is the specification most customers actually care about.
• Amine value — titration, the figure water treatment and catalyst formulators work from.
• Water content — Karl Fischer titration, critical in esterification and in isocyanate systems.
• Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard. Colour drift signals air ingress or metal contamination.
• Distillation range — a fast check for diethylamine and glycol ether adduct carry-over.
• Metals and residue — iron and evaporation residue, both of which matter in pharmaceutical and steam-system service.

Common Process Problems & Likely Causes

When DEEA 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 water treatment formulators and continuous plants.
• Inert blanketing. Nitrogen-blanketed at fill where colour and water matter, which covers pharmaceutical grades.
• Storage. Cool, dry, well-ventilated and bunded, with containers tightly closed and protected from air and moisture.
• 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 52 °C, so it is combustible rather than highly flammable, but heated transfer or a warm store still needs assessment.
• Transport classification. UN 2686, 2-Diethylaminoethanol, Class 8 corrosive with subsidiary risk 3 flammable, Packing Group II — shipped with full dangerous-goods documentation.

Hazards & Safe Handling

Diethylethanolamine is corrosive and combustible, 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, though less so than with the more volatile DMEA.
• 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 52 °C, so the headspace is not normally flammable at ambient — but heated transfer or a hot process area changes that. Assess the warm condition rather than the ambient one.
• Incompatibilities. Strong oxidising agents, strong acids, acid chlorides, isocyanates, and copper, brass, bronze and aluminium equipment.
• Spill response. Contain, absorb with inert non-combustible material and collect in a labelled closed container. Ventilate. Do not wash to drain.
• Environment. Do not allow to enter drains, surface water or groundwater. Dispose through a licensed chemical waste contractor.
• Fire. Combustible. 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

Diethylethanolamine is an 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.
• Steam that contacts food or feed. Where DEEA treats boiler water producing steam that contacts food, feed or pharmaceutical product, the treatment chemical must be approved for that service at destination, with permitted lists and concentration limits differing by territory.
• Pharmaceutical end use. Material destined for API manufacture is bought against pharmacopoeial or tightened specifications and comes with a heavier document set. Flag the end use at enquiry.
• Dangerous goods. UN 2686, 2-Diethylaminoethanol, Class 8 with subsidiary risk 3, Packing Group II. Declarations prepared for IMDG (sea) or IATA (air) as appropriate.

We Supply DEEA Worldwide

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

We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For DEEA that means knowing whether the end use is a steam system or a pharmaceutical ester, because those two set completely different limits on the same specification line — free diethylamine — and only one of them is forgiving.

• Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA including free diethylamine, current SDS and TDS with the consignment.
• Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for process 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 distribution ratio, amine value or diethylamine limits.
• Related intermediates. DMEA, NMEA, morpholine, cyclohexylamine, diethylamine 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 Treatment & Alkanolamine Intermediates

Buyers of DEEA usually source several of these alongside it — condensate treatment packages in particular rarely use one amine alone. Consolidating them on one order cuts freight cost and gives you a single point of contact for documentation.