Fatty Amine: an Important Product of Oleochemical Industry​

Aliphatic amines refer to a large class of organic amine compounds with a carbon chain length in the range of C8-C22. Like general amines, they are divided into four categories: primary amines, secondary amines, tertiary amines and polyamines. Primary and secondary, tertiary amines depend on the number of hydrogen atoms in ammonia replaced by alkyl groups. Fatty amines are one of the main intermediates of the three major oleochemicals (fatty alcohols, fatty acids and fatty amines). At present, in the industrial production of fatty amines, most of them use natural fatty acids as raw materials to react with ammonia to generate fatty nitriles, and then use fatty nitriles as raw materials to generate fatty amines under the action of catalysts.

Ⅰ. Properties of fatty amines

Fatty amines are organic derivatives of ammonia. C8-10 short-chain fatty amines have certain solubility in water. Long-chain fatty amines are generally insoluble in water and are liquid or solid at room temperature. As an organic base, it is irritating and corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes. Fatty amine can undergo reactions specific to aliphatic amines. These reactions include salt-forming reaction, quaternization, ethoxylation, nitrile ethylation, hydrogenation, alkylation, amidation, synthesis of amphoteric ammonium compounds, oxidation reaction, etc. These chemical properties determine that aliphatic amines and their derivatives have extremely wide applications.

Ⅱ. Application of fatty amine and its derivatives

1. Antistatic agent

The adducts of fatty primary amines and 2 moles of ethylene oxide are mainly used as antistatic agents in the plastics industry. The ethoxylated amine is not soluble in the plastic so that it migrates to part of the surface of the plastic, once it reaches the surface the ethoxylated amine will sufficiently absorb moisture from the atmosphere and the surface of the plastic becomes an antistatic plastic.

2. Bactericidal algaecide

Some tertiary amines can be used as fungicides after quaternization, and most of the quaternary ammonium salts used as fungicides contain benzyl groups in their structures. The fields where quaternary ammonium salts are used for sterilization purposes include: household, medical and industrial sterilization, disinfection, cleaning, mildew prevention.

3. Anti-caking agent

Primary amine and their salts can be used as effective anti-caking agents for fertilizers or explosives, and aliphatic amines used as anti-caking agents for explosives require a higher freezing point.

4. Pigment ink dispersant

Tertiary amines are used in pigment dispersants, and the addition of tertiary amines can reduce the grinding time of pigment production, thereby increasing the output. Fatty diamine and polyamine series are important ink and pigment dispersants.

5. Daily chemical industry application

Amine oxides prepared from tertiary amines are mainly used in the formulation of household cleaning products. Such as conditioning shampoos, body washes, facial cleansers, foam preparations, and light-duty detergents. Used in cosmetics, it can be used as moisturizer, emulsifier, thickener and bactericidal preservative. The amphoteric surfactant betaine is mainly produced by the reaction of dimethyl tertiary amine, chloroacetic acid and sodium hydroxide, and can be used in shampoos, high-grade detergents and baby cosmetics.