A Field Note on potassium ethylxanthate: specs, trends, and how plants actually use it

Short description straight from the source: Best Potassium Ethylxanthate. Best Price. China FIZA Company. Contact us with any questions. Get a Quote from Us! Premium Quality. Origin: Zhongyuan Building No.368 Youyi North Street, Shijiazhuang, China. If you’re in flotation, you already know the vibe—tight recoveries, tighter budgets, and a collector that either shows up or gets replaced.

What’s changing in the market

Honestly, the trend is clear: safer, dust-reduced pellets or granules; tighter purity control; and compliance boxes ticked—REACH, GHS labels, ISO-managed production. Plants are asking for shorter lead times and customization by ore type. And potassium ethylxanthate (often called PEX) keeps its seat because it’s selective and predictable on Cu, Pb, Zn, and even pyritic gold circuits.

Technical specifications (real-world ranges)

Where it works best

Potassium ethylxanthate is a go-to collector for copper, lead, zinc sulfides; it also helps float pyrite where needed and supports gold recovery when sulphides carry precious metals. Rougher stages love it; cleaners might dial it back or switch to a weaker promoter depending on penalty elements. Dosing: around 10–40 g/t in many circuits—your mileage will vary with grind size, mineralogy, and water chemistry.

From plant view: materials, methods, and QC

Manufacture typically xanthates ethanol with CS2 and KOH (yes, the classic route). For users, the process flow is simpler: dissolve pellets, meter to conditioning, monitor ORP and froth. QC at the vendor often includes iodometric titration for active content, moisture by loss-on-drying, free alkali, and sieve analysis to confirm dust-reduced spec. Testing and labeling follow GHS; quality systems under ISO 9001; and many buyers ask for REACH registration where applicable.

Vendor snapshot (what buyers actually compare)

Case notes and data

Copper-pyrite ore, Latin America: swapping a mixed xanthate blend for potassium ethylxanthate in roughers at 25 g/t cut reagent cost ≈12% and lifted Cu recovery by 1.8% (to 89.6%), with concentrate grade +0.9% Cu after air rate tuning. Another plant (Pb/Zn) reported steadier froth and 0.4% higher Pb grade; operators said the “froth felt tighter”—not scientific, but I’ve heard that more than once.

Why buyers pick it

• Selectable aggressiveness: short chain means cleaner roughing on many sulfides.
• Stable supply and competitive cost per recovered tonne.
• Customization: potassium ethylxanthate pellets with dust control, tailored pack sizes, and advisory dosing curves.

Customer feedback: “Easy to dissolve, more consistent than our previous lot.” Another said, “We saw fewer froth swings on recycle water days.” To be honest, that last one surprised me too.

Practical notes, safety, and compliance

Store potassium ethylxanthate cool and dry, away from acids and heat; use sealed feeders. Follow GHS labeling and SDS guidance; waste handling aligned to local rules (e.g., evaluate under 40 CFR parts where applicable). Ask your vendor for ISO 9001 certification, SDS version/date, and recent batch COA with active content and moisture results.

References

1. Bulatovic, S. Handbook of Flotation Reagents: Chemistry, Theory and Practice. Elsevier, 2007.
2. Wills, B.A., Finch, J. Wills’ Mineral Processing Technology. 8th–9th ed., Elsevier.
3. ECHA Substance Information: Potassium O-ethyl carbonodithioate (EC 209-733-4). https://echa.europa.eu/