Diluent

A diluent is a substance added to a formulation to reduce the concentration of another component. It has no functional role of its own beyond providing bulk and bringing the active to a workable strength.

Dilution serves several purposes. It brings a concentrated active to the level at which it should be used, so the product can be applied directly rather than measured out. It makes a product safer or easier to handle - a diluted material may fall outside a hazard classification that the concentrate attracts. And it improves distribution, since a small quantity of active spread through a larger volume can be applied evenly.

The distinction from a solvent is that a solvent dissolves other materials, while a diluent simply reduces concentration - though in practice the same substance often does both, and water frequently serves as both in aqueous products.

Diluents can be a meaningful share of a formulation's cost simply through volume, and they affect shipping cost and shelf space. That is the reasoning behind concentrated products designed for dilution at the point of use, common in cleaning chemicals and agrochemicals.

If freight is a meaningful part of your cost, ask whether a concentrated version is feasible for dilution nearer the point of use. Shipping water or solvent across the country is a cost that occasionally survives simply because nobody has questioned it. Check as well whether dilution changes the product's hazard classification, because a diluted formulation sometimes falls outside a classification the concentrate attracts, with consequences for labelling, packaging and transport cost.

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