Database/Fragrance/Phenethyl Acetate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Phenethyl Acetate natural?

No. Bulk commercial phenethyl acetate derives from petrochemical benzene via Friedel-Crafts synthesis; direct rose-oil extraction is a minor niche route.

INCI namePhenethyl Acetate
CAS103-45-7
FormulaC10H12O2 · 164.20 Da
FunctionFragrance
FeedstockManufactured industrially by reacting benzene with ethylene oxide…

How we scored it

Phenethyl alcohol is overwhelmingly made from benzene + ethylene oxide, then acetylated; the natural rose-oil/fermentation route is commercially negligible = 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.

How it’s made

Acetylation of phenethyl alcohol with acetic anhydride. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Manufactured industrially by reacting benzene with ethylene oxide to give phenethyl alcohol, then esterifying with acetic anhydride. A small natural fraction is isolated from rose oil or made by yeast fermentation.

In plain English

A rose- and honey-scented fragrance ingredient. Most commercial supply is manufactured from petrochemical benzene; a small amount is made naturally by fermentation or extracted from rose oil.

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Structure

2D structure of Phenethyl Acetate

2-phenylethyl acetate

PubChem CID 7654 ↗

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. 2Phenethyl Acetate. PubChem CID 7654. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3PHENETHYL ACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4PHENETHYL ACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PHENETHYL%20ACETATE