Database/Buffering/Adipic Acid
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Adipic Acid natural?

No. Global supply is overwhelmingly from petrochemical cyclohexane oxidation; minor bio-based fermentation route is not commercially dominant.

INCI nameAdipic Acid
CAS124-04-9
FormulaC6H10O4 · 146.14 Da
FunctionBuffering · Fragrance
FeedstockAdipic acid is produced industrially by oxidising cyclohexane…

How we scored it

Adipic acid manufactured by nitric-acid oxidation of cyclohexane/cyclohexanol (KA oil) from petrochemical benzene — dominant commercial route, no natural fragment → 0.0
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Adipic acid is produced industrially by oxidising cyclohexane (derived from petrochemical benzene) with nitric acid. A bio-based fermentation route from glucose exists at small scale but is not dominant.

In plain English

A pH-adjusting and fragrance ingredient made from petrochemical feedstocks through industrial oxidation, not from natural sources in current production.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of Adipic Acid

hexanedioic acid

PubChem CID 196 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Adipic Acid. PubChem CID 196. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ADIPIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ADIPIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ADIPIC%20ACID