Database/Hydrotrope Surfactant/Potassium Cumenesulfonate
Half & half · ISO 16128

Is Potassium Cumenesulfonate natural?

Half and half. Cumene ring and isopropyl group come from petrochemical benzene and propylene; the sulfonate group (SO3) and potassium are mineral.

INCI namePotassium Cumenesulfonate
CAS28085-69-0
FormulaC9H11KO3S · 238.35 Da
FunctionHydrotrope Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockCumene (benzene alkylated with propylene) is sulfonated with…

How we scored it

C9H11 (isopropylphenyl) 119.2 petrochemical; SO3K 119.2 mineral; 119.2 / 238.3 = 0.4999, which is 0.50 at two decimals.
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

Cumene (benzene alkylated with propylene) is sulfonated with SO3 and neutralised with potassium hydroxide. No natural-origin route for the aromatic part exists.

In plain English

A hydrotrope: it helps other ingredients stay dissolved and mixed in cleansers and liquid products. It is made by sulfonating petrochemical cumene and neutralising with potassium; the sulfonate and potassium are mineral.

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Structure

2D structure of Potassium Cumenesulfonate

potassium 2-propan-2-ylbenzenesulfonate

PubChem CID 23692415 ↗

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. 2Potassium Cumenesulfonate. PubChem CID 23692415. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3POTASSIUM CUMENESULFONATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4POTASSIUM CUMENESULFONATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POTASSIUM%20CUMENESULFONATE