Nitroethane

Chemical properties

colourless oily liquid with an unpleasant odour

Chemical properties

Nitroethane is a colorless, oily liquid with a mild, fruity odor. The Odor Threshold is 163 ppm.

Physical properties

Colorless, very flammable liquid with a fruity odor. Odor threshold concentration is 2.1 ppm (quoted, Amoore and Hautala, 1983). Concentrated mixtures usually contain 98 wt % nitroethane and 2 wt % moisture.

The Uses of Nitroethane

Common industrial solvent; more recently a commercial artificial nail remover

The Uses of Nitroethane

Solvent, artificial fingernail glue remover; in organic syntheses. Experimentally as liquid propellant.

Definition

ChEBI: A nitroalkane that is ethane substituted by a nitro group.

Production Methods

Industrial production of nitroethane is by vapor-phase nitration of propane with nitric acid, followed by fractional distillation (Baker and Bollmeier 1978). U.S. production was greater than 454 kg in 1975 (HSDB 1988).

General Description

A colorless oily liquid with a pleasant odor. Flash point of 82°F. Decomposes above 350°F. Density 1.052 g / cm3. Vapors much heavier than air. and insoluble in water. Vapors may irritate skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Produces toxic oxides of nitrogen during combustion. Used as a propellant and as a solvent.

Air & Water Reactions

Highly flammable. Water soluble.

Reactivity Profile

The nitroparaffins, nitromethane, nitropropane, etc. form salts with inorganic bases such as calcium hydroxide. The dry salts are explosive [Chem. Eng. News 30:2344. 1952]. Nitroethane and other nitro compounds are mild oxidizers and should not be heated with easily oxidizable hydrocarbons under confinement [Chem. Eng. News 30:2344. 1940].

Hazard

Moderate fire risk.Upper respiratory tract irritant, central nervous system impairment, and liver damage.

Health Hazard

Inhalation causes moderate irritation of respiratory tract. Ingestion causes irritation of mouth and stomach. Contact with liquid causes irritation of eyes and mild irritation of skin.

Health Hazard

Nitroethane is irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes (HSDB 1988), however, there have been no reports of serious toxic effects of the chemical in humans.

Fire Hazard

Special Hazards of Combustion Products: Toxic oxides of nitrogen may form in fire.

Industrial uses

Nitroethane is used as a solvent for cellulose esters, vinyl and other resins and waxes and as a solvent in batteries (Baker and Bollmeier 1978).

Safety Profile

Poison by intraperitoneal route. Moderately toxic by ingestion. Mildly toxic by inhalation. Causes injury to liver and hdneys. An eye and mucous membrane irritant. Flammable liquid when exposed to heat, sparks, flame, or oxidizers. To fight fire, use alcohol foam, CO2, dry chemical; water can blanket fire. Incompatible with Ca(OH)2, hydrocarbons, hydroxides, inorganic bases, KOH, NaOH, metal oxides, Explodes when heated. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of NOx. See also NITRO COMPOUNDS.

Potential Exposure

Nitroethane is used as solvent for polymers, cellulose esters; vinyl, waxes, fats, dyestuffs, and alkyd resins; as a stabilizer. It has been used as a rocket propellant. It is used as an intermediate in pharmaceutical manufacture and in pesticide manufacture.

Environmental Fate

Chemical/Physical. 2-Nitroethane will not hydrolyze because it does not contain a hydrolyzable functional group.

Metabolism

Nitroethane was partially excreted by the lungs when given to rabbits intravenously (1 g) or orally (1 or 2 g/kg). It was eliminated from the blood within 30 h after the intravenous dose (Machle et al 1942). A peak blood nitroethane concentration of 1.10 mg/ml was recorded after oral administration of 1.26 g/kg to rabbit. Following inhalation exposure of rabbits to about 13,500 p.p.m. or 2,700 p.p.m., peak nitroethane blood concentrations were 2.70 mg/ml after 360 min, and 0.36 mg/ml after 500 min, respectively. Blood nitrite and nitrate concentrations increased during the exposures, indicating that nitrite was formed as a result of the metabo-lism of nitroethane, and was oxidized to nitrate (Scott 1943). Absorption of nitroethane during inhalation exposure occurs in both the upper (URT) and lower (LRT) respiratory tract of rats (Stott and McKenna 1984). The isolated URT, LRT and intact respiratory tract absorbed 65, 71 and 58%, respectively, of the nitroethane presented at a rate comparable to a normal respiratory minute volume for rats. The absorption of nitroethane by the URT was linear over a 10-fold exposure range. During exposures only 2.8 and 2.0% of nitroethane was excreted from the URT and LRT, respectively.
Porter and Bright (1977) showed that nitroethane is readily converted by glucose oxidase in vitro to acetaldehyde, nitrite, nitrate, hydrogen peroxide and dinitroethane. However, the role of this enzyme in vivo is unknown. Bray and James (1958) recovered a small amount of a mercapturic acid metabolite from the urine of rabbits dosed with nitroethane.

Shipping

UN2842 Nitroethane, Hazard Class: 3; Labels: 3-Flammable liquid.

Purification Methods

Purify it as described for nitromethane below. A spectroscopic impurity can be removed by shaking it with activated alumina, decanting and distilling it rapidly. [Beilstein 1 IV 170.]

Incompatibilities

A nitroparaffin, nitroethane forms explosive mixture with air. Explodes when heated or when shocked; in confined area, with elevated temperatures. A strong reducing agent. Violent reaction with oxidizers, hydrocarbons, other combustibles; amines, metal oxides. Forms shock-sensitive compounds with strong acids; strong alkalis. Attacks some plastics and coatings.

Waste Disposal

Incineration: large quantities of material may require nitrogen oxide removal by catalytic or scrubbing processes.