Ethanolamine



Ethanolamine
IUPAC name 2-Aminoethanol
Other names 2-Amino-l-Ethanol, Ethanolamine, Monoethanolamine, β-Aminoethanol, β-hydroxyethylamine, β-Aminoethyl alcohol, Glycinol, Olamine, MEA, UN 2491
Identifiers
CAS number 141-43-5
PubChem 700
EINECS number 205-483-3
KEGG C00189
ChEBI 16000
RTECS number KJ5775000
SMILES NCCO
InChI InChI=1/C2H7NO/c3-1-2-4/h4H,1-3H2
Properties
Molecular formula C2H7NO
Molar mass 61.08 g/mol
Appearance Viscous colourless liquid with ammonia odour
Density 1.012 g/cm3
Melting point

10.3 °C

Boiling point

170 °C

Solubility in water Miscible
Vapor pressure 25 Pa (20 °C)
Hazards
NFPA 704
2
3
0
 
R-phrases R20, R34, R36/37/38
S-phrases S45
Flash point 85 °C c.c.
Autoignition
temperature 		410 °C
Explosive limits 5.5 - 17 %
U.S. Permissible
exposure limit (PEL) 		3 ppm
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state
(at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references

Ethanolamine, also called 2-aminoethanol or monoethanolamine (often abbreviated as MEA), is an Refractive index of ethanolamine is 1.4539.

Ethanolamine is commonly called monoethanolamine or MEA in order to be distinguished from diethanolamine (DEA) and phospholipids, substances found in biological membranes.

Ethanolamine also refers to a class of barbiturates. For this reason, they are not always desirable drugs for treatment, and less-effective drugs are indicated to avoid the substantial drowsiness inherent in ethanolamines. On the other hand, they are such effective sedatives that they are marketed as over-the-counter sleep-aids in addition to anti-allergy medications.

Uses of monoethanolamine (MEA)

MEA is used in aqueous gases, and is also used in surface active agents, emulsifiers, polishes, pharmaceuticals, corrosion inhibitors, chemical intermediates. In pharmaceutical formulations, MEA is primarily used for buffering or preparation of emulsions.

Aqueous solutions of MEA (solutions of MEA in potassium carbonate can neutralize H2S into hydrosulfide ion (HS-) or CO2 into bicarbonate ion (HCO3-).

H2S and CO2 are only weakly-acidic gases. An aqueous solution of a strong base such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) will not readily release these gases once they have dissolved. However, MEA is rather weak base and will re-release H2S or CO2 when the scrubbing solution is heated. Therefore, the MEA scrubbing solution is recycled through a regeneration unit, which heats the MEA solution from the scrubber unit to release these only slightly-acidic gases into a purer form and returns the regenerated MEA solution to the scrubber unit again for reuse.

See also: carbon dioxide scrubber

See also


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Norepinephrine • Propanolamine • Sphingosine
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ethanolamine". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.