Diethylenetriamine (DETA) is a versatile chemical used in various industrial processes, including paper resins, fabric softeners, chelating agents, and epoxy resins. It is sold in drums, has a highly alkaline pH, and smells like ammonia. DETA is also used as an ingredient in fuel, lubricating oil, and asphalt additives.
The chemical diethylenetriamine is an ingredient for several industrial processes. Potential applications range from paper resins to asphalt additives to fabric softeners. Generally, diethylenetriamine is a raw material for finished products.
Diethylenetriamine is also known by the acronym DETA and has the chemical designation N-(2-aminoethyl-1,2-ethanediamine). The substance is one of a group of chemicals known as ethyleneamines as it contains branch atoms on its molecule called amine groups. A primary amino group contains two hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen, while a secondary amino group has one hydrogen atom and one nitrogen atom. These amino groups influence the chemical characteristics of the substance.
Chemical manufacturers sell diethylenetriamine in drums to industrial customers. DETA of high purity has no color and is clear. The chemical smells like ammonia. It boils at 405 degrees Fahrenheit (about 207 degrees Celsius) and has a flash point of 215 degrees Fahrenheit (about 102 degrees Celsius). The substance also has a highly alkaline pH of around 12-13.
Paper resin manufacturers use DETA as raw material. They mix it with a dicarboxylic acid to form a polyaminoamide, which is in turn attached to an epichlorohydrin to form the finished resin. This type of feedstock application is also useful for factories that produce chelating agents, softeners, and industrial surfactants.
The DETA chelating product works to separate and remove metal ions from solutions, where they interfere with the process or the manufacturer wishes to purify the metal ions themselves. The fatty acid products and DETA, which are starchamines and imidazolines, give a fluffy, soft texture to washed fabrics, so they are used in fabric softeners.
If a manufacturer wants to create a hardened epoxy resin product, they can use DETA as a hardener for the epoxy resin to form a resilient resin structure. Another application for DETA is as an ingredient, together with fatty acids, to form chemicals such as amidoamines, which act as corrosion inhibitors. DETA is also present in some ion exchange resins, which are part of water treatment plants or processing parts of industrial plant products.
Some products use DETA as an additional ingredient. Examples of these products include fuel and lubricating oil, where diethylenetriamine works to keep levels of particulate deposits in engines low. As an asphalt additive, DETA products act as adhesives to hold asphalt and bulk minerals together.
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