Database/Buffering/Isopropanolamine
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Isopropanolamine natural?

No. Carbon skeleton from petrochemical propylene oxide and the amine nitrogen from natural-gas ammonia; no natural-origin fragment.

INCI nameIsopropanolamine
CAS78-96-6
FormulaC3H9NO · 75.11 Da
FunctionBuffering
FeedstockDominant route: propylene oxide reacted with ammonia, then…

How we scored it

C3H9NO, 75.11 Da: 2-hydroxypropyl carbon skeleton from propylene oxide and nitrogen from natural-gas ammonia, both petrochemical. 0 / 75.11 = 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

Dominant route: propylene oxide reacted with ammonia, then separated by distillation from the di- and tri-isopropanolamines. No commercial bio-based route is known.

In plain English

A small alkaline amine (1-amino-2-propanol) used as a buffer to adjust and hold the pH of a formula. It is made industrially by reacting propylene oxide, a petrochemical, with ammonia.

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Structure

2D structure of Isopropanolamine

1-aminopropan-2-ol

PubChem CID 4 ↗

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