Database/Propellant/Hydrofluorocarbon 134a
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Hydrofluorocarbon 134a natural?

No. Tetrafluoroethane is manufactured entirely from mineral-derived chlorine/fluorine chemistry on a petrochemical hydrocarbon backbone, with no natural building block.

INCI nameHydrofluorocarbon 134a
CAS811-97-2
FormulaC2H2F4 · 102.03 Da
FunctionPropellant
FeedstockHFC-134a is produced industrially by fluorinating chlorinated hydrocarbon…

How we scored it

C2H2F4, fully synthetic fluorinated hydrocarbon from chlorinated-solvent/HF chemistry — no natural fragment. 0/102=0.00.
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

HFC-134a is produced industrially by fluorinating chlorinated hydrocarbon intermediates such as trichloroethylene with hydrogen fluoride. There is no natural or renewable production route for this refrigerant gas.

In plain English

A compressed gas used to propel aerosol sprays. It is a fully synthetic fluorinated hydrocarbon manufactured from mineral/petrochemical chlorinated feedstocks and has no natural or plant source.

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Structure

2D structure of Hydrofluorocarbon 134a

1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane

PubChem CID 13129 ↗

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. 2Hydrofluorocarbon 134a. PubChem CID 13129. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HYDROFLUOROCARBON 134A. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HYDROFLUOROCARBON 134A. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HYDROFLUOROCARBON%20134A