How we scored it
Dimethyl ether made by dehydrating methanol, which is overwhelmingly produced from natural-gas syngas; no natural-origin atoms → 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
Commercially made by catalytic dehydration of methanol, which is produced almost entirely from natural gas syngas. Bio-methanol/bio-DME routes exist but are a negligible share of current cosmetic propellant supply.
In plain English
Dimethyl ether is a gas typically made from natural-gas-derived methanol. Used as a propellant and solvent in aerosol products.
Natural alternatives with the same function
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100% natural origin
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Structure
methoxymethane
References
- 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.
- 2Dimethyl Ether. PubChem CID 8254. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3DIMETHYL ETHER. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4DIMETHYL ETHER. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DIMETHYL%20ETHER