Many dusts are prone to the build-up of static electricity. Flour is perhaps one of the best known. Historically explosions from handling powder in them were fairly common. Perhaps one of the most famous was in Washburn, UK. A Mill where 18 people were killed and 6 mills were destroyed in total.
To reduce these dangers anti-static filter media were developed, allowing the dissipation of any charge which may have built up on the filter bags.
The technology is based on the incorporation of electrically conductive scrim into the needlefelt. The conductive scrim ensures conductivity throughout the felt through the grid pattern inside the material. Several fibers are used to impart static dissipation, the most reliable is stainless steel as this has excellent thermal and chemical resistance and so can withstand all the conditions which the fibers can handle.
Conductivity can also be imparted into the material by using conductive fibers blended into the fiber mix of the felt. The Checkstatic scrim design is preferred as it provides higher consistency of conductivity and a lower cost over the traditional blended conductive fiber products