Sodium ethyl xanthate Sodium ethyl xanthate Sodium ethyl xanthate (SEX) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CHCHOCSNa. It is a pale yellow powder, which is usually obtained as the dihydrate. Sodium ethyl xanthate is used in the mining industry as a flotation agent. A closely related potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) is obtained as the anhydrous salt. As with most xanthates, sodium ethyl xanthate can be prepared by treating sodium ethoxide with carbon disulfide: Sodium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder. It is relatively stable in water at high pH if not heated. It rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25
Ethyl Gasoline Corp. v. United States laws, and accordingly was illegal when its effect was to "regiment" an entire industry. Ethyl owned several patents on tetra-ethyl lead, an anti-knock fuel additive, and on its utilization: two patents on the chemical itself, a patent on a motor fuel—gasoline containing tetra-ethyl lead, and a patent on a method of using the fuel in an automobile engine. Ethyl established an elaborate licensing program under its several patents: Ethyl sold the fuel additive, and licensed purchasers to use it to practice the other patents. The licensing program fixed prices for the motor fuel and strictly limited the types of customer