The effect of stearic acid (added as a surfactant and/or a lubricant) on powder dispersion and particle packing of a zirconia ceramic/binder system has been investigated. Microstructural examination revealed that the addition of stearic acid prevented the particles from making a direct surface-to-surface contact. Contrarily, an insufficient coverage of the acid onto the powder surface resulted in a formation of particulate networks and led to an increase in suspension viscosity. A significant reduction in the most frequent pore size of the thermally debound samples was found as the fraction of stearic acid exceeded 3wt% on the basis of powder loading. This corresponds to a nominal >90% of surface coating by the adsorbed acid before being blended with the wax/polymer as a binder. The acid adsorption gradually reached a plateau as the acid increases above 3wt%. High acid quantities (>5wt%) are detrimental to the molding integrity as cracks were observed during thermal removal of the binder. (C)