Database/Chelating/Tripotassium EDTA
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Tripotassium EDTA natural?

Mostly not. Potassium counter-ions are mineral and count as natural origin, while the EDTA framework is built from petrochemical ethylenediamine, formaldehyde and cyanide or chloroacetate.

INCI nameTripotassium EDTA
CAS17572-97-3
FormulaC10H13K3N2O8 · 406.51 Da
FunctionChelating
FeedstockDominant route: EDTA from ethylenediamine, formaldehyde and sodium…

How we scored it

C10H13K3N2O8 406.5: three K 117.3 mineral; EDTA framework 289.2 petrochemical (ethylenediamine, formaldehyde, cyanide or chloroacetate); 117.3/406.5 = 0.29.
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: EDTA from ethylenediamine, formaldehyde and sodium cyanide (or chloroacetic acid), converted to the tripotassium salt with potassium hydroxide. No alternative route is commercially significant.

In plain English

A chelating agent that binds metal ions so they do not interfere with a formula. The EDTA part is made synthetically from petrochemical ethylenediamine, formaldehyde and cyanide or chloroacetic acid; the potassium is a mineral salt.

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Structure

2D structure of Tripotassium EDTA

tripotassium;2-[2-[bis(carboxylatomethyl)amino]ethyl-(carboxymethyl)amino]acetate

PubChem CID 62717 ↗

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. 2Tripotassium EDTA. PubChem CID 62717. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TRIPOTASSIUM EDTA. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TRIPOTASSIUM EDTA. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TRIPOTASSIUM%20EDTA