Specialty amines and ethanolamines
Methylamines, ethylamines, ethanolamines and ethyleneamines made from ammonia with methanol, ethanol or ethylene oxide; inputs for drugs, agrochemicals, solvents and carbon-capture solvents.
Fine chemicals · Other fine chemicals · No. 105
- Product family
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 5-7 Mt a year across ethanolamines, alkylamines, ethyleneamines and fatty amines (indicative); ethanolamines about 2.5 Mt (derived: about 2 Mt EO, ethylene oxide tile, at about 0.8 t EO per t)
- 3.0 t CO₂e per t
- HS 292211, 292119
Take ammonia, swap a hydrogen for carbon, and you get molecules inside weedkillers, detergents and carbon-capture plants.
Chart: Illustration: Specialty amines and ethanolamines
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
Amines are made by reacting ammonia with methanol, ethanol or ethylene oxide; a tonne of dimethylamine needs about 1.42 t of methanol.
Three things to know
- Every amine plant makes a mix of products in fixed proportions, and all of them must be sold, which shapes prices.
- Monoethanolamine, made from about 0.72 t ethylene oxide and 0.28 t ammonia per tonne, is the benchmark carbon-capture solvent.
- Balaji Amines sold 106,970 t in FY2026 at a 20% EBITDA margin, rising to 25% in the fourth quarter.
The journey
- 1 AmmoniaThe nitrogen backbone of every amine
- 2 Carbon feedMethanol, ethanol or ethylene oxide added
- 3 AminationReacted over catalysts at 350-450 C
- 4 SeparationDistilled into mono-, di- and tri- products
- 5 DerivativesSolvents, EDTA, choline chloride, pesticide salts