Darvan is a deflocculant and used to disperse ceramic suspensions to minimize their water content. It is a liquid alternative to the long popular sodium silicate. About twice as much is required typically (0.4-0.5%) however Darvan does offer a number of advantages. Typically soda ash is not needed as a complement and Darvan does not attack plaster molds. In addition slurries are much less sensitive to over deflocculation and are more stable. It is thus easier to reprocess scrap. However a number of engineers still prefer using a sodium silicate:soda ash mix to control thixotropic properties better, especially if little scrap is being added.

Darvan No. 7 is a high molecular weight, long chain polymer that has been used successfully as a general purpose dispersing agent for both ceramic bodies and glazes. Like 811 and 812, this poly-electrolyte shows the advantages mentioned above. Slips prepared with Darvan No. 7 show little tendency to thicken on standing (thus this version is considered better for glazes).

The active agent in Darvan is polyacrylic acid. Its molecules are negatively charged along their length. They attach to clay particles and cause them to repel each other.

There are two cautions with this material:
-It has a shelf life of two years
-Some types cannot go below 40 degrees F without detrimental effects on their performance. Darvan definitely cannot be frozen.
In either of these cases, it will simply not disperse your slurry as expected.