dispersant

English

Etymology

From disperse +‎ -ant.

Noun

dispersant (plural dispersants)

1. (chemistry) Any substance that is used to prevent settling or clumping of particles suspended in a liquid.
   • 1989, Tony E. Hart, “Letters of Agreement for the use of Dispersants”, in L. Michael Flaherty, editor, Oil dispersants: new ecological approaches, page 152:

     Since the effectiveness of dispersants is time-critical, the sooner that concurrence can be obtained and the dispersant applied, the more effective such

   • 1989, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Effectiveness of Oil Spill Dispersants, Using oil spill dispersants on the sea, page 122:

     Effects due to the dispersant solvent and surfactants in the water column may be surmised only from laboratory studies

   • 2010 May 13, Paul Quinlan, “Less Toxic Dispersants Lose Out in BP Oil Spill Cleanup”, in New York Times:

     Scientists warn that the dispersed oil, as well as the dispersants themselves, might cause long-term harm to marine life.

Synonyms

• (chemistry): disperser, dispersing agent

Derived terms

• hyperdispersant

Translations

substance used to stabilize a dispersion

• Finnish: dispergointiaine
• French: dispersant (fr)
• German: Dispergiermittel n
• Greek: διασπορικός (el) (diasporikós)
• Korean: 분산제 (bunsanje)

See also

• dispersant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Catalan

Verb

dispersant

1. gerund of dispersar

French

Participle

dispersant

1. present participle of disperser

Further reading

• “dispersant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.