Database/Antimicrobial/Quaternium-15
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Quaternium-15 natural?

No. Built from a formaldehyde-ammonia condensation product and allyl chloride, both petrochemical feedstocks.

INCI nameQuaternium-15
CAS4080-31-3
FormulaC9H16Cl2N4 · 251.15 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial · Preservative
FeedstockManufactured by quaternising a formaldehyde-ammonia condensation product (hexamine)…

How we scored it

Quaternised hexamine (from formaldehyde+ammonia) + allyl chloride; all fragments petrochemical → 0/total = 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.

Where it comes from

Manufactured by quaternising a formaldehyde-ammonia condensation product (hexamine) with allyl chloride, both petrochemical intermediates. No natural-origin route exists.

In plain English

A preservative that releases small amounts of formaldehyde to control bacteria in cosmetic formulas. It is manufactured entirely from synthetic petrochemical starting materials such as formaldehyde and ammonia derivatives.

CosIng definition: Quaternium-15 is the quaternary ammonium salt that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Quaternium-15

1-(3-chloroprop-2-enyl)-3,5,7-triaza-1-azoniatricyclo[3.3.1.13,7]decane chloride

PubChem CID 20011 ↗

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. 2Quaternium-15. PubChem CID 20011. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3QUATERNIUM-15. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4QUATERNIUM-15. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=QUATERNIUM-15