Without a doubt the nitrogen derivatives are the most broadly diversified family of fatty acid derivatives. Today they account collectively for perhaps 400 million pounds of products per year in the USA alone. Although fatty amides may be produced by a large number of synthetic routes, industrially only two are of any commercial importance. Diamides are the difunctional analogs of simple amides, and a typical one that is in medium scale production volume is ethylene bis(stearamide). Industrially, the production of fatty nitriles in the fatty acid derivative industry is exclusively by ammonolysis of fatty acids at temperatures somewhat above those required to produce amides, or roughly, 300–320 C. Both vapor phase catalytic and liquid phase ammonolysis processes may be employed. Nitriles have limited uses as such, but find their utility as fatty derivative intermediates only. The primary amines, RNH2, are produced industrially by the catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles. The general conditions for the conversion of nitriles to primary amines with a minimum content of secondary or tertiary amines is with nickel catalyst using an excess of ammonia at relatively low temperatures (130–140 C). Amine oxides are derived from tertiary amines by a controlled reaction with hydrogen peroxide. In addition to tertiary amines, the monoalkyl diethoxylated amines can be considered as in the same class. These are made by the addition of ethylene oxide to primary amine. Two moles of ethylene oxide can be added without catalyst. Additional ethoxylation does require a basic catalyst. These amines, besides having end uses of their own, can be converted to amine oxides or can be converted to ethoxylated quaternary ammonium salts.