Database/Perfuming/Ethyl Isobutyrate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ethyl Isobutyrate natural?

Mostly not. Ethanol is fermentation-derived, but isobutyric acid is made petrochemically via propylene oxo-synthesis.

INCI nameEthyl Isobutyrate
CAS97-62-1
FormulaC6H12O2 · 116.16 Da
FunctionPerfuming
FeedstockMade by esterifying isobutyric acid, produced industrially from…

How we scored it

Isobutyric acid (88Da, petrochemical) + ethanol (46Da, fermentation) minus H2O=116Da; natural=45/116=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 esterifying isobutyric acid, produced industrially from propylene by the oxo process, with fermentation ethanol. A minor fusel-oil route to isobutyric acid exists but is not dominant.

In plain English

A fruity fragrance ingredient. It's made by combining plant-fermented alcohol with an acid that is mostly manufactured from petroleum-based propylene.

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Structure

2D structure of Ethyl Isobutyrate

ethyl 2-methylpropanoate

PubChem CID 7342 ↗

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. 2Ethyl Isobutyrate. PubChem CID 7342. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ETHYL ISOBUTYRATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ETHYL ISOBUTYRATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ETHYL%20ISOBUTYRATE