Database/Perfuming/Ethyl Propionate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ethyl Propionate natural?

Mostly not. Ethanol is fermentation-derived but propionic acid is predominantly made petrochemically from ethylene.

INCI nameEthyl Propionate
CAS105-37-3
FormulaC5H10O2 · 102.13 Da
FunctionPerfuming
FeedstockMade by esterifying propionic acid, mostly manufactured from…

How we scored it

Propionic acid (74Da, petrochemical) + ethanol (46Da, fermentation) minus H2O=102Da; natural=45/102=0.44.
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 propionic acid, mostly manufactured from petrochemical ethylene via the oxo process, with fermentation ethanol. A minor fermentation route to propionic acid exists but is not dominant industrially.

In plain English

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

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Structure

2D structure of Ethyl Propionate

ethyl propanoate

PubChem CID 7749 ↗

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 Propionate. PubChem CID 7749. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ETHYL PROPIONATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ETHYL PROPIONATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ETHYL%20PROPIONATE