Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| the quantity of product formed by the interaction of two or more substances, generally expressed as a percentage |
| of, pertaining to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals: glacial phosphoric acid |
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xanthate
any of a class of organic salts formed by treatment of an alcohol with carbon disulfide in the presence of an alkali. The term is derived from the Greek word xanthos, for "yellow," in reference to the compound potassium ethyl xanthate (C2H5OCS2K), which gives a yellow precipitate when combined with copper sulfate. The most important group of xanthates are the sodium salts produced from cellulose; these materials are processed to form the synthetic fibre rayon or the transparent film cellophane, then reconverted to cellulose. The xanthates of some low-molecular-weight alcohols are used as flotation agents for the concentration of ores.
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