Comparison of some solid catalysts for the production of ethanolamines from ammonia and ethylene oxide in the liquid phase

The ability of different forms of zeolites, such as 13X, 4A, Y, and AW500, to catalyze the formation of mono-, di-, and triethanolamines from ethylene oxide and ammonia in the liquid phase has been examined and compared with that of an organic ion-exchange resin. The ion-exchange resin, Amberlite 200, gives the highest yield of monoethanolamine (MEA), while the zeolite 13X has the highest capacity of producing MEA. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that any contributions from homogeneous reactions to the total reaction rate are negligible. A fast and highly reproducible method for the direct GC analysis of ethanolamines using fused-silica capillary columns is also presented.