moderant

plural moderants

1. Something that moderates (especially a chemical reaction or explosive force).

   The moderants used in many nitro-cellulose powders tend to cooler burning and reduce the rate of erosion.

   1946, Colonel Townsend Whelan, Small Arms Design and Ballistics, volume II Ballistics, Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, page 20

   2 more examples

   It partially dissolves in nitro-glycerine to a gelatinous mass, which, when mixed with castor-oil as a moderant, or with vaseline as a lubricant, forms a valuable “high” explosive—maximite, cordite.

   1898, John Wade, Introduction to the Study of Organic Chemistry: A Text-book for Students in the Universitites and Technical Schools, Swan Sonnenschein, page 182

   When only a liquid coolant is disclosed and there is nothing to infer that the reaction is unmoderated (fast reactor), the liquid coolant will be interpreted as also serving as a moderant (unless by its very nature or chemical make-up it cannot so function).

   1962 December 14, Classification Bulletin of the United States Patent Office, Class 165, Heat Exchange, pages 176-26