Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CHCHOCSK. It is a pale yellow powder that is used in the mining industry for the separation of ores. Unlike the related sodium ethyl xanthate, the potassium salt exists as an anhydrous salt. Xanthate salts are prepared by the action of alkoxides on carbon disulfide. The alkoxide is often generated in situ from potassium hydroxide: Potassium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder that is stable at high pH but rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25 °C. Unlike the sodium derivative, potassium xanthate crystallizes
Ethyl Corporation Ethyl Corporation Ethyl Corporation is a fuel additive company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. The company is a distributor of fuel additives. Among other products, Ethyl Corporation distributes tetraethyllead, an additive used to make leaded gasoline. Founded in 1923, Ethyl Corp was formed by General Motors and Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso). General Motors had the "use patent" for tetraethyllead (TEL) as an antiknock, based on the work of Thomas Midgley, Jr., Charles Kettering, and later Charles Allen Thomas, and Esso had the patent for the manufacture of TEL. Since the patents affected the marketing of