Industrial solvents morpholine

Migration of nitrosamines into consumer products can occur via direct contact of materials such as waxed containers, elastic and rubber etc.81. Morpholine is used extensively as an industrial solvent for wax formulations. The wax formulations are used for coating fruits and vegetables to prevent moisture loss and increase shelf-life of the products. Paper and cardboard packed with morpholine was also found to give rise to NDMA, as these packaging materials were found to be contaminated with NDMA as well. Besides this, rubber products also provided a migratory source for both nitrosamines and nitros-able amine precursors, as trace levels of NDEA and TV-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA) have been reported in cured meats with amine-based accelerators in the rubber nettings82. 

Virtually any amine will work, so long as it dissolves freely into the nitromethane. Better results are obtained from aliphatic amines than from aromatic amines. The amines which the inventor preferred are diethylamine and morpholine. Morpholine is a reasonably common industrial solvent used with waxes and resins, but for Home Workshop Explosive purposes one would be better off looking for ethylenediamine or diethylaminoethanol instead. 

Morpholine, bp 128°C, is a colourless, hygroscopic liquid, miscible with water, and as a result of the inductive influence of the oxygen atom, it possesses lower basicity pKa = 8.4) than piperidine (11.2) and piperazine (9.8). Morpholine is synthesized either by acid-catalysed cyclodehydration of bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amine or from bis(2-chloroethyl) ether and NH3. Morpholine, like piperidine, is used as a basic condensing agent and as a solvent. In industry, it is employed as an additive to the feed-water inhibiting corrosion in steam boilers. 

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