Nitrobenzene
This is the simplest nitroaromatic there is, and the parent of everything else on this site. Benzene plus mixed acid, one nitro group, nothing else. Almost the entire world production exists for a single purpose — hydrogenation to aniline — which is why most of it never leaves the site that makes it, and why the merchant market is thinner than the tonnage figures suggest.
Chelora Chemicals supplies nitrobenzene to aniline producers, dye and rubber chemical plants and fine chemical houses worldwide, in drums, ISO tanks and bulk, with a batch COA and GHS safety data sheet on every consignment.
Product identity
- CAS Number
- 98-95-3
- IUPAC name
- Nitrobenzene
- Molecular formula
- C6H5NO2
- Molecular weight
- 123.11 g/mol
- EC / EINECS
- 202-716-0
- UN Number
- 1662 · Class 6.1 · PG II
- SMILES
- O=[N+]([O-])c1ccccc1
- HS Code
- 2904 20*
* Confirm the exact HS heading with your customs broker. Nitrobenzene normally sits with the derivatives carrying only nitro groups, but destination tariff schedules differ in how finely they subdivide the heading.
What Nitrobenzene is used for
Nitrobenzene is a pale yellow, oily liquid with a characteristic almond-like odour, denser than water and only slightly soluble in it. It freezes at about 5.7 °C — a detail with more practical consequence than any other number on the data sheet, because ordinary winter weather crosses it.
The dominant use is catalytic hydrogenation to aniline, which then feeds isocyanates for polyurethanes, rubber processing chemicals and dye chemistry. The second route is further nitration to dinitrobenzene and on to m-phenylenediamine and m-nitroaniline. Beyond that, fine chemical producers use nitrobenzene as a mild oxidant and high-boiling reaction medium in several classical syntheses, where its ability to accept hydrogen without entering the product is the point.
Where it sits in the family
- Nitrobenzene (CAS 98-95-3) — this product. Benzene with one nitro group; the entry point to aniline chemistry.
- Meta dinitrobenzene (CAS 99-65-0) — a second nitration of the same ring, with a much sharper hazard profile. See that page.
- Nitrotoluenes — the same nitration applied to toluene, where the methyl group splits the product into three isomers. See the ortho isomer.
- Nitrochlorobenzenes — nitration of chlorobenzene, giving a ring that carries a displaceable chlorine. See that page.
The nitration acid behind all of them is the same — oleum in the mixed acid. See the full intermediate range.
Appearance and handling character
The material ships as a pale yellow to yellow oily liquid, combustible rather than flammable, with a flash point near 88 °C. It is toxic by all three routes, readily absorbed through intact skin, a methaemoglobin former, and classified for reproductive toxicity. On this product the safety section is not boilerplate — read it before any handling is planned.
| Parameter | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Pale yellow oily liquid |
| Assay | 99.5% min |
| Dinitrobenzene | Reported per batch |
| Nitrophenols | Reported per batch |
| Residual benzene | Reported per batch |
| Moisture | 0.1% max |
| Acidity (as H2SO4) | Reported per batch |
| Crystallising point | ≈ 5.6 °C min |
Important: the figures above are indicative of commercial grade material and are offered for planning only. The batch certificate of analysis is the governing document. For hydrogenation feed, the nitrophenol and acidity figures decide catalyst life and are worth more attention than the assay line. Tell us your limits and we will quote against them.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Physical state | Oily liquid at ambient |
| Freezing point | ≈ 5.7 °C |
| Boiling point | ≈ 211 °C |
| Flash point | ≈ 88 °C (closed cup) |
| Relative density | ≈ 1.20 at 20 °C |
| Vapour density | ≈ 4.3 (air = 1) — vapour sinks |
| Water solubility | Slightly soluble (≈ 2 g/L) |
| Organic solubility | Miscible with most organic solvents |
Physical constants compiled from public reference data for CAS 98-95-3 and rounded for readability. Treat them as orientation, not as a specification.
Where our customers put this molecule to work
One product, one dominant destination — and a handful of smaller uses that justify a merchant market at all.
Aniline production
Catalytic hydrogenation converts the nitro group to an amine, giving aniline — the single largest destination for this molecule anywhere in the world, and the reason most buyers purchase it.
- Vapour or liquid phase hydrogenation
- Nitrophenols and acidity govern catalyst life
- Consistent feed specification available
Polyurethane chain
Aniline derived from nitrobenzene feeds the isocyanate chain that ends in rigid and flexible polyurethane foam. That downstream demand is what sets the tone of this market from one year to the next.
- Demand tracks construction and insulation
- Contracted volumes available
- Ask us how the cycle is running
Dinitrobenzene route
A second nitration gives meta dinitrobenzene, reduced in turn to m-phenylenediamine and m-nitroaniline for dye, polymer and curing-agent chemistry.
- Low moisture essential for the nitration
- See meta dinitrobenzene
- Mixed acid supply available alongside
Dye & rubber chemicals
The aniline chain runs on into azo dye components and into the accelerators and antidegradants that the tyre and rubber goods industry consumes in bulk.
- Colour-chain intermediates on request
- Consistent lot-to-lot supply
- See our intermediate range
Reagent & reaction medium
In fine chemical synthesis nitrobenzene serves as a mild oxidant and high-boiling medium in classical heterocycle chemistry, accepting hydrogen without becoming part of the product.
- Small and pilot quantities available
- Low-water grade for sensitive routes
- Full analytical documentation available
Contract & scheduled supply
Most capacity is captive to aniline, so genuine merchant volume has to be secured rather than assumed. Buyers who contract get the tonnage; buyers who wait get the spot price.
- Annual contracts with scheduled call-off
- Price held across the contract period
- Second source held in reserve
How we supply Nitrobenzene
Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and sourcing partner, not a manufacturer. On a product where most capacity is captive to an integrated aniline plant, the question is not who makes the most — it is who has merchant volume available in your window. That is the question we answer.
We place your order with whichever qualified producer best matches your assay, your trace limits, your price point and your delivery window.
We keep a second qualified source on this line. When an integrated site pulls its merchant tonnage back inside to feed its own aniline unit, your campaign switches source rather than stalling.
- Trace limits agreed before we quote. Nitrophenols, acidity and moisture — the three figures that decide what your hydrogenation catalyst costs you over a year.
- Crystallising point reported. It is the quickest honest read on purity on this product, and it appears on every COA we release.
- Batch COA shared before dispatch. You approve the full profile against your own spec while the material is still in our warehouse.
- Skin absorption stated up front. We say it at enquiry stage, not in the small print, so your EHS team can plan the right controls before the first drum lands.
- Winter logistics planned. With a freezing point near 5.7 °C, we talk about heated storage and thawing arrangements before the shipment sails, not after it arrives solid.
- Export machinery handled in-house. UN 1662 classification, approved packing, labelling, freight booking and customs paperwork are ours to manage.
Packed the way your plant receives it
Pack format drives your landed cost and your handling effort. Tell us how the material will be charged at your end and we will quote the format that suits your operation.
UN-approved MS drums
The standard commercial format for Class 6.1 liquids — sealed, labelled and palletised, suitable for closed drum-pump transfer rather than open decanting.
Bulk ISO containers
For contracted programmes, with the lowest cost per tonne and no drum disposal. Heated or insulated units specified where the route or season demands it.
Bulk road movement
Where destination and volume allow, bulk delivery direct into your storage tank, scheduled against your production calendar with DG routing arranged.
Heated & insulated options
Freezing near 5.7 °C makes cold-weather movement a real planning item. Insulated or steam-coil equipment is specified at booking rather than improvised at your gate.
Samples & trial packs
Laboratory and pilot quantities dispatched so your R&D team can qualify the grade first — subject to DG rules for your destination and courier.
Incoterms to suit you
Quoted on the Incoterm your purchasing team works to, with DG documentation filed before the booking is made rather than chased afterwards.
Skin absorption and delayed effects
Nitrobenzene is toxic by the oral, dermal and inhalation routes, a methaemoglobin former, classified for reproductive toxicity and suspected of causing cancer. The almond odour tempts people to treat their nose as a detector; it is not one, and the route that usually matters is the one you cannot smell at all. The summary below is orientation only — the safety data sheet supplied with your consignment is the authoritative document.
Classified hazards
H301Toxic if swallowed.H311Toxic in contact with skin.H331Toxic if inhaled.H351Suspected of causing cancer.H360FMay damage fertility.H372Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure.H412Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
Hazard statements reflect classifications commonly published for CAS 98-95-3. Nitroaromatics as a class are methaemoglobin formers associated with effects on blood, liver and spleen on repeated exposure. Always read the SDS issued with your specific batch.
Spill & emergency orientation
Plan your response before the drums arrive. Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the SDS are the authoritative instructions and should be posted at the point of use.
- Assume skin absorption. Contaminated clothing is a continuing dose — remove it immediately, wash the skin thoroughly, and handle the clothing as contaminated waste.
- Expect delayed presentation. Methaemoglobinaemia can appear hours after exposure. A casualty who feels fine should still be assessed, with the SDS in hand.
- Alcohol makes it worse. Consumption around the time of exposure aggravates the effect — a point worth making in the toolbox talk, not just the SDS.
- Contain, do not hose to drain. Absorb with inert material, collect and dispose of as regulated chemical waste; keep it out of watercourses.
- Never overheat. Nitroaromatics decompose exothermically at elevated temperature, and contamination with alkali or acid lowers the onset. Thaw with warm water or regulated steam, never a flame.
Storage
- Cool, dry, well-ventilated and access-controlled store, away from direct sunlight, heat and ignition sources. Keep it above 5.7 °C if you would rather not thaw drums.
- Keep containers tightly closed on a sealed and bunded floor. Carbon steel and stainless steel are normally suitable; confirm gasket and elastomer compatibility.
- Segregate from strong bases and acids, oxidisers and reducing agents. Caustic contamination of a hot nitroaromatic is a recognised thermal hazard, not a housekeeping detail.
- Restrict access. With a toxic-by-skin-contact and reproductive-toxicity classification, controlling who enters the store is a genuine control measure.
- Shelf life is typically 24 months or more in sealed original packing. Re-assay before use after long storage.
Handling & PPE
- Design skin contact out. Closed transfer and fixed lines first, local exhaust ventilation second, PPE last — in that order, not the reverse.
- Chemical-resistant gloves, goggles and coveralls, with contaminated clothing bagged and handled as contaminated waste rather than sent to an ordinary laundry.
- Respiratory protection during drum opening, charging, sampling and any hot work on the system, per your own exposure assessment.
- Health surveillance. Where repeated-exposure organ toxicity and reproductive classification trigger obligations at your site, your occupational health provider owns the detail.
- Keep it out of drains. Contain and dispose of as regulated chemical waste; check your discharge consent before the material is introduced.
Transport
Nitrobenzene moves as regulated cargo under UN 1662, Class 6.1, Packing Group II. We classify each consignment, apply UN-approved packaging and labelling, and file the dangerous-goods declaration before the booking is made. Cold-weather routing and heated equipment are agreed at the same time — ask us for the current DG paperwork when you plan the shipment.
What travels with every consignment
A chemical shipment is only as good as the file that travels with it. Verifying what the source plant sends is precisely the work you are buying from a supplier.
Certificate of Analysis
Batch-specific assay, crystallising point, dinitrobenzene, nitrophenols, residual benzene, moisture and acidity — checked against your purchase specification before release.
GHS Safety Data Sheet
Full 16-section SDS in GHS format covering hazards, exposure controls, handling, storage, spill response, toxicology and disposal — issued in the language your destination requires.
Dangerous Goods Declaration
UN 1662, hazard class, packing group and IMDG or IATA declaration prepared and filed before the container is booked, with correctly marked and labelled packaging.
Certificate of Origin
Chamber-attested where required, plus preferential-origin forms where a trade agreement gives your import duty relief at the destination.
Third-party inspection
SGS, Intertek or Bureau Veritas sampling and inspection arranged on request before loading, giving you independent verification of what actually ships.
Retained & pre-shipment samples
Pre-shipment samples carry the same COA as the commercial lot, so what your laboratory qualifies is exactly what arrives. Retention samples held against the batch.
One nitro group in, one amine out
Nitrobenzene is made by mixed-acid nitration of benzene and consumed by hydrogenation of the same nitro group it was made to install. Everything in between — washing, stripping, trace control — exists to protect the catalyst at the other end. The routes below are the general industrial pattern, not a process disclosure.
Nitrate the benzene
Benzene is nitrated with mixed acid — nitric acid with sulphuric acid or oleum as the water scavenger — in a strongly exothermic, closely controlled reaction.
Separate and wash
The crude organic layer is separated from spent acid and washed to remove residual acid and the nitrophenols formed as by-products.
Strip and finish
Unreacted benzene and water are stripped off. The crystallising point on the COA is the practical confirmation that this step did its job.
Hydrogenate to aniline
Catalytic hydrogenation reduces the nitro group to an amine. Feed trace quality decides how long the catalyst lasts before it has to be changed.
Why the trace figures matter more than the assay
A 99.5% assay tells you very little about how this material will behave in a hydrogenation reactor. The remaining half percent is what decides that:
- Nitrophenols are acidic by-products of the nitration. They poison hydrogenation catalysts and are the single most common reason a feed lot disappoints.
- Acidity carried over from the wash attacks reactor metallurgy and compounds the catalyst problem. It is cheap to measure and expensive to ignore.
- Dinitrobenzene from over-nitration reduces to a diamine, contaminating your aniline with a very different molecule and raising a thermal-stability question of its own.
- Moisture and residual benzene affect selectivity, recycle load and, in the case of benzene, your workplace exposure position.
- Crystallising point is the fastest practical read on all of the above, which is why experienced buyers watch it alongside the assay figure.
That is why we quote against your written trace limits rather than a generic "technical" grade, and why the batch COA is shared for approval before dispatch rather than sent with the invoice.
| Intermediate | Downstream chain |
|---|---|
| Nitrobenzene CAS 98-95-3 — this product | Aniline Isocyanates, rubber, dyes |
| Meta dinitrobenzene CAS 99-65-0 | m-Phenylenediamine Dyes, curing agents |
| Ortho nitrotoluene CAS 88-72-2 | o-Toluidine Pigments, agro, rubber |
| Ortho nitrochlorobenzene CAS 88-73-3 | o-Anisidine, o-nitroaniline Dyes & pigments |
We supply across the nitroaromatic family, and the oleum that nitrates them — see the full intermediate range. Send the CAS number and we will confirm the correct material before quoting.
What actually moves the price of this intermediate
Knowing what drives the quote helps you time a purchase and read whether an offer is realistic.
Benzene is most of the cost
One benzene molecule gives one nitrobenzene molecule, and the nitro group adds little mass. Benzene therefore dominates the cost structure and the quote moves with it almost directly.
- Track benzene if you want to forecast this
- Conversion cost is the smaller share
- We flag feedstock-driven moves in the quote
Nitration acid economics
Mixed acid means nitric acid plus sulphuric acid or oleum, and spent acid has to be regenerated. Sulphur, ammonia and energy all feed into the conversion cost.
- Spent acid regeneration is energy-intensive
- See our oleum 23% page
- Acid supply tightness shows up downstream
The MDI cycle
Downstream polyurethane demand sets the tone. When isocyanate producers run hard, captive consumption rises and merchant volume thins — which is felt as availability before it is felt as price.
- Captive demand competes with merchant supply
- Ask us where the cycle is running
- Contracted call-off protects your position
Merchant availability
Most nameplate capacity sits inside integrated sites. The tonnage that reaches the open market is a fraction of the headline figure, and a single turnaround moves it noticeably.
- We hold a second qualified source
- Qualify the alternate before you need it
- Ask us about dual-source contracts
Freight & DG surcharges
Class 6.1 cargo carries a hazardous surcharge and space is tighter than for general cargo. In winter, heated equipment adds further cost on some lanes.
- Compare on landed cost, not ex-works
- DG space books out ahead of peak season
- We quote FOB, CIF, CFR or DDP as you prefer
Regulatory pressure
Nitroaromatic production carries effluent, emissions and occupational health obligations that have consolidated capacity into fewer, larger plants. That cost sits inside the price.
- Handling obligations vary by jurisdiction
- Effluent rules shape plant economics
- We check destination rules before quoting
| If your end use is… | Specify |
|---|---|
| Hydrogenation to aniline | Low nitrophenols and acidity; consistent crystallising point |
| Further nitration to DNB | Low moisture; tight acidity; low residual benzene |
| Reagent / reaction medium | Low water grade; colour specification where appearance matters |
| Dye & rubber chain | Full impurity profile; consistent single source |
| Laboratory / reference | Highest available purity, small DG-compliant pack |
Not sure which column you are in? Describe what you make from it and our technical desk will recommend the grade — including telling you when a cheaper specification would do the job just as well.
Support that goes beyond shipping the drum
What our technical desk will do
- Set the trace limits with you. Nitrophenols and acidity, not assay, are what your catalyst responds to — and they are the figures most often left vague on a purchase order.
- Plan the cold-weather position. Freezing point near 5.7 °C means heated storage, thawing procedure and winter routing are part of the specification, not an afterthought.
- Be straight about the hazard profile. Toxic by all three routes, skin-absorbed, reproductive toxicant — stated at enquiry stage so your EHS team can plan.
- Review your specification before it goes into a contract, so you are not locked into a limit that no plant can consistently hit.
Regulatory & compliance notes
- Nitroaromatic obligations are jurisdiction-specific. Several regimes impose exposure monitoring, health surveillance and record retention for this class. Confirm what applies at your site before the first delivery.
- Reproductive toxicity classification triggers additional workplace duties in many jurisdictions, including restrictions on who may work with the material.
- Chemical inventory listings differ between regions — we will supply the identity data you need for that filing.
- Effluent and waste rules apply to washings and contaminated material. Check your discharge consent against the material before introducing it.
None of the above is legal advice — your own regulatory affairs team owns the final compliance position for your import and your workplace. What we commit to is accurate product identity data, an honest statement of the hazard classification and complete documentation to work from.
From enquiry to delivered pallet
Send the specification
Product name or CAS 98-95-3, your assay, crystallising point and trace limits, quantity, pack preference and destination port.
Receive a firm quote
Pricing, lead time, packing and Incoterm confirmed in writing within 24 hours — our sourcing desk is staffed around the clock.
Qualify and approve
Sample dispatched if you are qualifying a new source. Batch COA shared for your approval before the material is released.
Ship and track
UN 1662 classification filed, DG freight booked, export documents issued, and the consignment tracked through transit and clearance to your plant.
What buyers ask us about Nitrobenzene
What is nitrobenzene actually used for?
What purity do you normally supply?
Why does it freeze in my store?
Can we rely on the almond smell as a warning?
Is it absorbed through the skin?
What is the minimum order quantity?
How long does delivery take?
How should we store it, and what is the shelf life?
Is this a dangerous good? What paperwork comes with it?
- Batch certificate of analysis
- GHS-format safety data sheet
- Dangerous-goods declaration with UN number, class and packing group
- Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or airway bill
- Certificate of origin and any destination-specific forms
Do you manufacture this yourself?
Request pricing on Nitrobenzene
Send your required assay, crystallising point, nitrophenol and acidity ceilings, quantity, pack format and destination port. Our sourcing desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and comes back with pricing, lead time and packing options — whether that is a single trial drum or a contracted bulk programme for the year.