Database/Hydrotrope Surfactant/Ammonium Xylenesulfonate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ammonium Xylenesulfonate natural?

Mostly not. Sulfonate counts as natural mineral mass; the xylene-derived ring and ammonium (natural-gas ammonia) are petrochemical.

INCI nameAmmonium Xylenesulfonate
CAS26447-10-9
FormulaC8H13NO3S · 203.26 Da
FunctionHydrotrope Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by sulfonating petrochemical xylene from crude-oil reforming,…

How we scored it

SO3 group (natural mineral fragment) 80 Da; xylene-ring C8H9 (petrochemical) 105 Da; NH4 (natural-gas ammonia, not a blessed cation) 18 Da; 80/203 = 0.39.
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

Made by sulfonating petrochemical xylene from crude-oil reforming, then neutralising with ammonia synthesised from natural gas. No natural-origin route exists for either the ring or the ammonium.

In plain English

A synthetic hydrotrope that keeps surfactant blends clear and pourable in shampoos and cleansers. It's made from petroleum-derived xylene treated with sulfur trioxide and neutralised with ammonia.

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Structure

2D structure of Ammonium Xylenesulfonate

azanium 2,4-dimethylbenzenesulfonate

PubChem CID 33512 ↗

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. 2Ammonium Xylenesulfonate. PubChem CID 33512. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3AMMONIUM XYLENESULFONATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4AMMONIUM XYLENESULFONATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=AMMONIUM%20XYLENESULFONATE