Dimethylamine

It is used ... for the production of the solvents dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethylacetamide (DMAC), for water-treating agents, surfactants, rubber-processing compounds, and a range of agrochemicals.

As accelerator in vulcanizing rubber, tanning, manufacturing detergent soaps, or attracting boll weevils to exterminate them (former use). As reagent for magnesium.

Acid-gas absorbent, solvent antioxidants, manufacture of dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide, dyes, flotation agent, gasoline stabilizers, pharmaceuticals, textile chemicals, rubber accelerators, electroplating, dehairing agent, missile fuels, pesticide propellant, rocket propellants, surfactants, reagent for magnesium.

Use as an antiknock agent in fuels.

Chemical intermediate in pesticide production, solvents, surfactants, rubber processing, and epoxy resin accelerators.

Industrial uses: Binder, Soil amendments (fertilizers), pH regulating agent, Intermediate.

Methylamines are prepared commercially by the exothermic reaction of methanol with ammonia over an amorphous silica-alumina catalyst at 350 - 450 °C. All three methylamines are produced. The reaction proceeds to thermodynamic equilibrium, the position of which is governed by the temperature and the nitrogen/ carbon (NH3/MeOH) ratio. ... In a typical commercial methylamine process ... methanol reacts with ammonia in the gas phase in one or more fixed-bed reactors. The crude reaction mixture contains essentially excess ammonia, mono-, di-, and trimethylamines, reaction water, and unconverted methanol. Purification is generally effected in a train of four to five distillation columns.

Preparation from methanol plus ammonia, ... by catalytic hydrogenation of nitrosodimethylamine.