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.
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(79-24-3) and other nitro compounds are mild oxidizers and should not be heated with easily oxidizable hydrocarbons under confinement [Chem. Eng. News 30:2344. 1940].
Air & Water Reactions
Highly flammable. Water soluble.
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.
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.
Fire Hazard
Special Hazards of Combustion Products: Toxic oxides of nitrogen may form in fire.
First aid
If this chemical gets into the eyes, remove any
contact lenses at once and irrigate immediately for at least
15 minutes, occasionally lifting upper and lower lids. Seek
medical attention immediately. If this chemical contacts the
skin, remove contaminated clothing and wash immediately
with soap and water. Seek medical attention immediately. If
this chemical has been inhaled, remove from exposure, begin
rescue breathing (using universal precautions, including
resuscitation mask) if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart
action has stopped. Transfer promptly to a medical facility.
When this chemical has been swallowed, get medical attention.
Give large quantities of water and induce vomiting. Do
not make an unconscious person vomit. Medical observation
is recommended for 24-48 hours after breathing overexposure,
as pulmonary edema may be delayed. As first aid for
pulmonary edema, a doctor or authorized paramedic may
consider administering a drug or other inhalation therapy.
Shipping
UN2842 Nitroethane, Hazard Class: 3; Labels:
3-Flammable liquid.
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.
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.
Waste Disposal
Incineration: large quantities
of material may require nitrogen oxide removal by catalytic
or scrubbing processes.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.]
