A tertiary amine, it is widely used as a sweetening agent in chemical, oil refinery, syngas production and natural gas.

MDEA's defining characteristic when compared to these other amines is its ability to preferentially remove H2S (and strip CO2) from sour gas streams.

[2] However, when the same control variables and tests were conducted at the Boundary Dam Power Station plant, the CO2 production rate for the mixed solvent was lower than MEA.

Even with flue gas pretreatment, there is still enough to produce degradation products such as straight chain amines and sulfur compounds, which accumulate so it is no longer possible to regenerate MEA and MDEA.

Main oxidative degradation products of MDEA include monoethanol amine (MEA), methyl-aminoethanol (MAE), diethanolamine (DEA), amino acids bicine, glycine and hydroxyethyl sarcosine (HES), formyl amides of MAE and DEA, ammonia, and stable salts formate, glycolate, acetate, and oxalate.

[4] Because of the formation of DEA and MAE, which could form nitroso-compounds or diethylnitrosamine and diethylnitraine, the blend could potentially have an adverse impact in terms of atmospheric admissions.