Database/Emollient/Triethylhexyl Trimellitate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Triethylhexyl Trimellitate natural?

No. The benzene-tricarboxylate core comes from petrochemical pseudocumene and all three ester alcohols are 2-ethylhexanol from propylene, so no fragment is natural-origin.

INCI nameTriethylhexyl Trimellitate
CAS3319-31-1
FormulaC33H54O6 · 546.8 Da
FunctionEmollient · Plasticiser
FeedstockTrimellitic anhydride from oxidised pseudocumene (a petroleum aromatic)…

How we scored it

Trimellitate core C9H3O6 207 Da (pseudocumene, petrochemical) + 3 x 2-ethylhexyl C8H17 340 Da (propylene oxo alcohol, petrochemical) = 547 Da; natural 0 / 546.8 = 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

Trimellitic anhydride from oxidised pseudocumene (a petroleum aromatic) is esterified with oxo-process 2-ethylhexanol made from propylene. No commercially significant bio-based route exists.

In plain English

An oily emollient and plasticiser that softens the feel of a product and keeps film-forming ingredients flexible, used in lipsticks, sunscreens and other colour products. It is made in a factory from trimellitic acid, an oil-derived aromatic acid, and 2-ethylhexanol, a petrochemical alcohol.

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Structure

2D structure of Triethylhexyl Trimellitate

tris(2-ethylhexyl) benzene-1,2,4-tricarboxylate

PubChem CID 18725 ↗

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. 2Triethylhexyl Trimellitate. PubChem CID 18725. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TRIETHYLHEXYL TRIMELLITATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TRIETHYLHEXYL TRIMELLITATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TRIETHYLHEXYL%20TRIMELLITATE