Database/Antimicrobial/Benzethonium Chloride
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Benzethonium Chloride natural?

No. Every structural fragment - benzyl, octylphenol, and ethoxylate chains - is a petrochemical aromatic or ethylene-oxide derivative.

INCI nameBenzethonium Chloride
CAS121-54-0
FormulaC27H42ClNO2 · 448.1 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial · Deodorant
FeedstockSynthesised from petrochemical octylphenol ethoxylate and benzyl chloride…

How we scored it

Quaternary ammonium built from benzyl chloride and octylphenol-ethoxylate chains, all petrochemical aromatic/ethoxylate fragments -> 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

Synthesised from petrochemical octylphenol ethoxylate and benzyl chloride via quaternisation. No natural-origin route exists.

In plain English

A synthetic preservative and antimicrobial ingredient used to control microbial growth and odour. It is built entirely from petrochemical aromatic and ethoxylated building blocks.

CosIng definition: Benzethonium Chloride is the quaternary ammonium salt that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Benzethonium Chloride

benzyl-dimethyl-[2-[2-[4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenoxy]ethoxy]ethyl]azanium chloride

PubChem CID 8478 ↗

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. 2Benzethonium Chloride. PubChem CID 8478. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BENZETHONIUM%20CHLORIDE