Antistatic and ESD packaging is plastic packaging whose surface resistance has been lowered by additives or conductive fillers, so that the charge generated during handling drains away instead of discharging into an electronic component. ANSI/ESD S541 classifies this packaging into three resistance classes: conductive, static dissipative and insulative or low-charging. Untreated polyethylene and polypropylene sit at 10^15 to 10^16 ohm, which is why a polybag lifted from a bench can charge to 20,000 V at 10 to 25 % relative humidity, and only to 1,200 V at 65 to 90 % relative humidity. So which material class does a given part need?
Antistatic agents make up only 0.1 to 1 wt% of a finished plastic product, which puts them among the lowest-dosed plastic additives in use, yet the chemistry chosen decides whether a bag, tray or film reaches the target resistance band at all. Three additive routes reach the three resistance classes: migrating surfactants for low-charging film, permanent inherently dissipative polymers for the dissipative band, and conductive carbon black or carbon nanotubes for conductive parts.
This page sets out the three ANSI/ESD S541 resistance classes and how they map onto the plastics-industry naming of "antistatic," the additive families and typical loadings that reach each class, the pink, black and metallised bag constructions built from them, the resistance and static-decay test methods and specification limits used to qualify them, why antistatic packaging stops working in service, which antistats are cleared for food-contact packaging, and who supplies the additives and masterbatch.
- 3 resistance classes in ANSI/ESD S541: conductive, static dissipative and insulative (low-charging)
- Dissipative band: 1.0 x 10^4 to below 1.0 x 10^11 ohm
- Untreated PE and PP: 10^15 to 10^16 ohm
- Migrating antistats reach a surface monolayer in about 2 days in LDPE and LLDPE
What Is ESD Packaging and Why Do Packaging Plastics Need It?#
Packaging plastics need ESD protection because polyethylene and polypropylene are insulators at 10^15 to 10^16 ohm, so the charge that friction puts on them stays where it is generated and leaves only as a discharge. A discharge that jumps from a charged bag into a circuit board, connector or sensor can damage the component it was meant to protect. Electronic components can be damaged by discharges far below the voltages a polybag reaches, which is why the packaging industry treats surface resistance, not just visible sparking, as the design variable.
The chemistry that lowers that resistance is covered in full on the antistatic agents for plastics hub, which compares the chemistries across every polymer and application; this page applies that chemistry specifically to bags, film, trays and totes used around static-sensitive electronics.
How does a plastic bag build up a static charge?#
A plastic bag charges triboelectrically: contact with another surface transfers electrons, separation leaves the charge behind, and on an insulator it cannot flow away. The process runs in three steps:
- Contact. Two surfaces touch, for example a bag sliding across a conveyor or against another bag.
- Separation. The surfaces pull apart, and each one keeps an unequal share of electrons.
- Discharge. The charge stays on the insulating surface until it meets a lower-resistance path, often a grounded object or a static-sensitive component, and transfers suddenly.
Humidity is the hidden variable in this process: the same polybag reaches 20,000 V at 10 to 25 % relative humidity but only 1,200 V at 65 to 90 %, which is why migrating antistats are tested at low humidity. Migrating antistats work through a bound water layer at the surface, and that layer relies on wanted blooming, the same surface-migration mechanism that is treated as a defect for other additives such as plasticizers.
What does ESD stand for?#
ESD stands for electrostatic discharge, the sudden transfer of charge between two objects at different potentials. In packaging, ESD-protective material is material that is low-charging, dissipative or conductive, or that shields its contents from an external discharge.
What Are the 3 Main Types of ESD Packaging Materials?#
The 3 main types of ESD packaging materials are conductive, static dissipative and insulative or low-charging materials, separated in ANSI/ESD S541 by surface resistance: below 1.0 x 10^4 ohm, 1.0 x 10^4 to below 1.0 x 10^11 ohm, and 1.0 x 10^11 ohm and above. The plastics industry and the ESD industry use the word "antistatic" differently, and the two scales are never mixed on this page: additive suppliers describe 10^9 to 10^13 ohm as "antistatic," while ANSI/ESD S541 files everything at or above 10^11 ohm as insulative. A grade that a masterbatch supplier calls antistatic can therefore sit inside the ESD industry's insulative class rather than its dissipative one.
| Class | Surface resistance (ANSI/ESD S541) | What it does | Typical plastics route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conductive | Below 1.0 x 10^4 ohm | Drains charge fast, carries current | Conductive carbon black or carbon nanotubes above the percolation threshold |
| Dissipative | 1.0 x 10^4 to below 1.0 x 10^11 ohm | Drains charge in a controlled, slower way | Inherently dissipative polymers, conductive filler below the conductive loading |
| Insulative | 1.0 x 10^11 ohm and above | Holds charge; "low-charging" grades reduce how much is generated | Migrating antistats (surfactant bloom, humidity dependent) |
Additive suppliers label 10^9 to 10^13 ohm "antistatic" (Ampacet). That band overlaps the ANSI/ESD S541 insulative class, so always state which scale a number belongs to.
1. Conductive packaging materials (below 1.0 x 10^4 ohm)#
Conductive ESD packaging measures below 1.0 x 10^4 ohm and is made by loading a polymer with conductive carbon black or carbon nanotubes until the filler particles form a continuous network through the part. Below a critical loading the compound behaves as an insulator; above it, the filler particles touch or sit close enough for electrons to tunnel between them, and the resistance drops by orders of magnitude over a narrow concentration window. The loading needed for a given resistance is polymer, grade, concentration, dispersion and distribution dependent, so compounders can set it only by trial on the target resin.
This class is used where fast charge drainage matters more than clarity: ESD trays, totes and clean-room parts use conductive carbon black, carbon nanotubes or an inherently dissipative polymer, depending on how dark a part can be and how low the resistance target sits. The trade-off is colour: a filler loaded high enough for the conductive class is black or dark, never clear.
The full grade range, food-contact status and hazard profile of conductive carbon black are covered on its own substance page.
2. Static dissipative packaging materials (1.0 x 10^4 to below 1.0 x 10^11 ohm)#
Static dissipative packaging measures 1.0 x 10^4 to below 1.0 x 10^11 ohm, the band that lets a charge bleed away slowly enough to avoid a fast discharge into the component it protects. This is the working class for most electronics packaging because it drains a charge without the abrupt current spike a conductive part can pass through a device. Inherently dissipative polymers reach this band through a co-continuous, ion-conductive network rather than a surface water layer, so they hold their resistance independently of relative humidity; a surface resistivity measured at 12 % relative humidity comes out similar to one measured at 50 %.
In Polymers (2026), a polyamide-6-polyethylene-glycol elastomer carrying quaternary ammonium groups reached 3.64 x 10^11 ohm at 20 wt% in polypropylene on the day of moulding and 4.69 x 10^10 ohm after 60 days, moving from the insulative band into the dissipative band as the network matured. Formulators who need humidity-independent performance without a migrating layer generally reach for a permanent antistatic additive rather than a surfactant blend, because permanent antistats hold the dissipative band without depending on a water layer at all.
3. Antistatic (low-charging) packaging materials (1.0 x 10^11 ohm and above)#
Antistatic or low-charging packaging stays above 1.0 x 10^11 ohm on the ESD scale but generates far less charge than untreated film, because a migrating surfactant at the surface binds a thin water layer that carries the charge away. On the plastics-industry scale the same film can read 10^9 to 10^13 ohm and still be called antistatic by its supplier, which is why the two scales have to stay separate in a specification.
This class prevents charge generation; it does not shield. A pink antistatic bag still passes most of an external discharge through to its contents, and because the mechanism runs through a bound water layer, its performance changes with relative humidity in a way a conductive or dissipative part does not. The chemistry and bloom kinetics behind migrating antistatic agents are covered in the next section and on their own page.
Which Additives Make Packaging Plastics Antistatic or Dissipative?#
Three additive families make packaging plastics antistatic: migrating surfactants such as glycerol monostearate, permanent antistats built from ion-conductive block copolymers, and conductive fillers such as conductive carbon black and carbon nanotubes. Each family reaches a different resistance class by a different mechanism, migration to a surface water layer, a permanent ion-conductive network, or a percolating particle network, and the choice between them is set by the target resistance, the humidity the part will see in service, and whether the part needs to stay clear.
Migrating antistats: glycerol monostearate, ethoxylated amines and diethanolamides#
Migrating antistats are surfactants that bloom to the surface of the film, where the hydrophilic head binds atmospheric water and the resulting layer conducts the charge away, a monolayer forming in about 2 days in LDPE and LLDPE. The hydrophobic tail stays anchored in the polymer while the hydrophilic head sits at the surface, and it is that bound water layer, not the additive molecule alone, that carries the charge to ground.
Four chemistries account for most of this class:
- Glycerol monostearate (CAS 31566-31-1, also 123-94-4), the fastest-acting antistat, giving the immediate effect after processing.
- Ethoxylated amines, including stearyl diethanolamine (CAS 10213-78-2), tallow amine (61791-44-4) and the C12-18 (71786-60-2) and C13-15 (70955-14-5) grades, which give a longer-term effect and perform best in HDPE.
- Lauric diethanolamide (CAS 120-40-1), which performs best in LDPE and LLDPE.
- Sodium secondary alkanesulfonate (CAS 68037-49-0), used in PS, HIPS and PVC; it is not recommended for PE because of its low heat stability at polyolefin processing temperatures.
Glycerol monostearate gives the immediate effect and the ethoxylated amines the long-term effect, and formulators commonly use the two together so that a film is antistatic on the line and stays antistatic weeks later. Together, glycerol monostearate and the ethoxylated amines hold more than 50 % of the antistatic additive market, a share reported in a 2023 review in Polymers.
Resin choice affects how well any of these chemistries work. Diethanolamides perform best in LDPE and LLDPE, and ethoxylated amines in HDPE, because higher crystallinity in HDPE and PP homopolymer slows the diffusion of the additive to the surface, and polar resins such as EVA, EMA, ionomer, PA and PET retain the antistat and need a higher starting level to reach the same surface concentration.
Glycerol monostearate is described in full, with its grade-by-grade dosage and food-contact status, on its own substance page. The ethoxylated amine antistats that give the long-term effect and perform best in HDPE have their own migration and regulatory data set out separately.
Permanent antistats: inherently dissipative polymers#
Permanent antistats are hydrophilic block copolymers that form a co-continuous, ion-conductive network inside the host polymer, so they work without migration and without a surface water layer. The chemistry class covers polyolefin-polyether block copolymers of the Pelestat type, Pebax MH/MV, Irgastat P, Entira ionomers, Stat-Rite and Ionphase grades; these names describe a class, not a ranked list, and none of them carries a CAS number in our source library because they are reaction products rather than single substances.
Inherently dissipative polymers are typically used at 10 to 20 wt% in polypropylene, most often confined to the skin layer of a multilayer film so the bulk layer keeps its mechanical properties and cost stays down. Because the network does not depend on atmospheric humidity, grades in this class can meet the criteria of NFPA 99 and MIL-B-81705C across the full humidity range a migrating antistat struggles with. Formulators should reserve permanent antistats for parts that must work at low humidity or after washing, since a migrating chemistry loses its surface layer under either condition.
Pelestat, the reference polyolefin-polyether block copolymer of this class, is described in more detail on its own substance page.
Conductive fillers: conductive carbon black, carbon nanotubes and graphene#
Conductive fillers work by percolation: above a critical loading the particles touch or come close enough to tunnel, and the compound changes from insulator to conductor over a narrow concentration window. The filler's surface area and aspect ratio decide how little of it is needed to reach that threshold, which is why the three fillers used in ESD packaging differ so widely in loading.
| Filler | CAS | Why it is used | Known figures | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conductive carbon black | 1333-86-4 | Cheapest route to conductive and dissipative compounds; also gives UV protection and black colour | Ketjenblack EC-300J about 800 m²/g BET, about one third the loading of conventional conductive blacks; EC-600JD about 1400 m²/g, about one sixth | Black only; Prop 65 listing for airborne unbound respirable particles since 21 February 2003 |
| Carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) | 308068-56-6 | Percolation at very low loading, so mechanical and surface properties are kept | Percolation reported from 0.06-0.08 wt% (co-continuous PP/PS) to 0.5-1.4 wt% in PP; masterbatches 10-20 wt% | Harmonised Carc. 1B H350i and STOT RE 1 H372 for MWC(N)T in the defined dimensions, in application from 1 May 2026; not usable in EU food-contact plastics |
| Graphene | 1034343-98-0 | Conductive, barrier and reinforcing nanofiller | REACH registered (EC 801-282-5) | No dosage data established in our source library; nanoform rules apply in EU food contact |
Loading for a given resistance depends on polymer, filler grade, concentration, dispersion and distribution, so every compound is set by trial.
Bauhofer and Kovacs, in a 2009 percolation review in Composites Science and Technology, place carbon nanotube electrical percolation as low as 0.06 to 0.08 wt% in a co-continuous PP/PS blend and as high as 0.5 to 1.4 wt% in plain PP, a range wide enough that dispersion quality, not loading alone, decides whether a given compound reaches the conductive class. Multi-walled carbon tubes in the dimensions covered by the harmonised classification carry Carc. 1B H350i and STOT RE 1 H372 under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2564, in application from 1 May 2026, so handling and downstream use need to account for that classification once it applies.
The full comparison of conductive additives and fillers by percolation threshold and cost sits on its own page.
Which additive reaches which resistance class?#
The resistance target decides the additive: migrating surfactants for low-charging film, inherently dissipative polymers for the dissipative band at any humidity, and conductive carbon black or carbon nanotubes for conductive parts.
| Target class | Additive route | Typical packaging form | Humidity dependence | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-charging (insulative on the ESD scale) | Migrating antistat (glycerol monostearate, ethoxylated amine, lauric diethanolamide) | Pink polyethylene bags, bubble film, stretch film, liners | Yes, needs a surface water layer | Clear |
| Dissipative | Inherently dissipative polymer, often in the skin layer | Clear dissipative film and bags, trays, clean-room parts | No (12 % RH similar to 50 % RH) | Clear |
| Dissipative to conductive | Conductive carbon black | Black bags, trays, totes, tubes | No | Black only |
| Conductive | Conductive carbon black at higher loading, carbon nanotubes | Conductive totes, trays, IC tubes, technical parts | No | Black or dark |
Shielding is a construction, not an additive class: see the bag-construction section below.
Request quotes for antistatic additives and ESD masterbatch: chemistry or CAS, resin, target surface resistance, volume and country, through the plastic additive supplier finder. A companion ESD Resistance Class and Additive Selection Chart is available to download by submitting an email, role and company.
How Much Antistatic Additive Does ESD Packaging Need?#
Antistatic packaging carries 0.1 to 1 wt% of a migrating antistat, while a permanent antistat needs 10 to 20 wt% in polypropylene and a conductive filler is set by its percolation threshold. That family-level range comes from Chea et al. (2025), adapted from Hahladakis et al. (2018), and it covers the antistatic agent family as a whole rather than any one chemistry.
| Additive | Polymer | Figure | Source type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antistatic agents (family level) | Any | 0.1-1 wt% of the product | Chea et al. 2025, Table 2 |
| Glycerol monostearate | LDPE | 0.15 % | Struktol guidance |
| Glycerol monostearate | HDPE | 0.3 % | Struktol guidance |
| Glycerol monostearate | PP | 0.05-0.5 % | Struktol guidance |
| Glycerol monostearate | Rigid PVC / flexible PVC | 0.5-1.5 phr / 0.5-1.0 phr | Struktol guidance |
| Inherently dissipative polymer | PP | 10-20 wt% | Pebax and PA6-PEG studies |
| MWCNT | PP | Percolation 0.06-1.4 wt% depending on morphology and dispersion | Peer-reviewed studies |
Supplier and study values. Trials with the actual resin, process and humidity decide the final level.
Four drivers set the final loading in a given formulation:
- Resin type. Crystalline resins such as HDPE and PP homopolymer slow migration and can need a higher starting level than LDPE.
- Processing history. Corona treatment, lamination and tight winding all change how much antistat reaches and stays at the surface.
- Target humidity. A part that must pass MIL-PRF-81705D at 12 % relative humidity needs a chemistry and level that still works at low humidity, not just at 50 %.
- Service life required. A short-life bag can run on the lowest effective level of glycerol monostearate; a part that must stay dissipative for months needs an ethoxylated amine or a permanent antistat instead.
Keep the two logics apart when reading a spec sheet: FDA use levels under 21 CFR 178.3130 are legal maxima, not recommended dosages, and the Struktol figures above are supplier guidance for glycerol monostearate used as a lubricant and antistat, not a regulatory ceiling.
As a worked calculation, not a product recommendation: a 20 wt% antistatic masterbatch let down at 2.5 % gives 0.5 wt% active additive in the finished film (0.20 x 2.5 % = 0.5 %). Check the arithmetic for other let-down ratios with the let-down ratio calculator.
Pink, Black and Metallised: Which ESD Bag Construction Does What?#
Only a metallised bag shields: reported test values show that of a 1,000 V pulse applied to the outside, about 20 V reaches the inside of a metallised shielding bag, about 600 V inside a black conductive bag and about 800 V inside a pink antistatic bag. ANSI/ESD STM11.31 covers the shielding-bag test that produces figures of this kind.
| Construction | What the plastic contains | Typical class | Residual of a 1,000 V external pulse | What it protects against |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pink antistatic polyethylene | Migrating antistat (historically tallow amine; modern grades use less reactive amines or amides) | Low-charging, insulative on the ESD scale | About 800 V | Charge generation by the bag itself |
| Black conductive polyethylene | Conductive carbon black | Conductive or dissipative | About 600 V | Charge generation and charge drainage |
| Metallised shielding bag | Multilayer laminate with a metal layer | Shielding construction | About 20 V | External discharges (Faraday cage effect) |
Values reported for a 1,000 V pulse applied outside the bag. Shielding performance is measured to ANSI/ESD STM11.31.
The colour is a convention, not a specification: pink normally means a migrating antistat in polyethylene and black normally means carbon black, but the class a bag belongs to is set by the measured resistance, not by the colour of the film. Pink poly bags historically used reactive tallow amine; modern bags use less reactive amines or amides instead, because tallow amine can oxidise and cause stress-cracking in the contents it is meant to protect. Metallised bags add a laminated metal layer on top of an antistatic or dissipative base film, which is why they shield an external discharge that a pink or black bag on its own only attenuates.
How Is Antistatic and ESD Packaging Tested?#
Antistatic and ESD packaging is qualified by two measurements: surface or volume resistance, and static decay time, both taken under a controlled relative humidity. Because surface resistance changes rapidly with humidity while volume resistance changes only slowly, both the test method and the conditioning humidity have to be stated alongside any resistance figure, not just the number itself. Method details and typical values are set out on the surface resistivity page.
Surface and volume resistance measurement#
Surface resistance is measured to ANSI/ESD STM11.11 and volume resistance to STM11.12, with ASTM D257 and IEC 62631-3-1 and -3-2 as the general plastics methods. Four standards cover most of the resistance testing done on ESD packaging:
- ANSI/ESD STM11.11, surface resistance and surface resistivity of planar materials.
- ANSI/ESD STM11.12, volume resistance and volume resistivity of planar materials.
- ANSI/ESD STM11.31, shielding performance of shielding bags.
- IEC 61340-5-1, IEC 61340-5-3 and IEC 61340-2-3, the international equivalents used alongside ASTM D257 and IEC 62631-3-1 and -3-2.
ASTM D257 does not cover moderately conductive materials; a compound conductive enough to sit in the dissipative or conductive class is tested to ASTM D4496 instead. Using D257 on a moderately conductive compound is a real and recurring mistake in conductive-compound testing, since the method's own scope excludes that resistance range. Conditioning matters as much as the method: surface resistance changes rapidly with relative humidity, so a resistance figure without its conditioning humidity attached cannot be compared against a specification limit.
Static decay requirements: NFPA 99 and MIL-PRF-81705D#
Two specifications set the pass mark for antistatic packaging: NFPA 99 asks for a static decay below 0.5 seconds at 50 % relative humidity, and MIL-PRF-81705D asks for below 2.0 seconds at 12 % relative humidity plus a surface resistivity below 10^12 ohm.
| Specification | Conditioning | Static decay requirement | Resistivity requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFPA 99 | 50 % RH | Below 0.5 s (5 kV to the 10 % cutoff) | Or below 10^11 ohm |
| MIL-PRF-81705D | 12 % RH | Below 2.0 s (5 kV to the 0 % cutoff) | And below 10^12 ohm |
Values as compiled by Ampacet. Check the current issue of each specification before writing it into a purchase order.
The decay method used by MIL-PRF-81705 is FTMS 101C Method 4046. The humidity is the hard part of both specifications: a migrating antistat that passes at 50 % relative humidity can fail the same test at 12 %, because the bound water layer that carries the charge away is thinner at low humidity, while an inherently dissipative polymer that meets NFPA 99 and MIL-B-81705C criteria keeps a similar surface resistivity at both conditioning levels. Static decay testing covers the cabinet, the cutoffs and the conditioning in full.
Why Does Antistatic Packaging Stop Working?#
Antistatic packaging fails for 6 reasons: low humidity, a depleted surface reservoir, adsorption on antiblock, competition with slip agents, loss into laminating adhesives and polar layers, and chemical reaction with acidic additives.
| Cause | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Low relative humidity | The water layer that carries the charge does not form | Use a permanent antistat or a conductive filler |
| Reservoir depletion | The surface layer is wiped or washed off and the bulk is exhausted (glycerol monostearate: about 1-2 months) | Raise the loading, change to an amine for long-term effect, or use a permanent antistat |
| Silica antiblock in the same film | Adsorbs antistat and slip, retarding migration | Rebalance antiblock type and level |
| Slip agent at the same surface | Slip and antistat compete for surface sites | Set slip and antistat levels together |
| Lamination and polar layers (PA, PET, adhesive) | Act as sinks and pull the antistat out of the sealing layer | Put an inherently dissipative polymer in the skin layer |
| Acidic additives, halogenated flame retardants, acidic blowing agents | React with the basic amine or amide antistat | Choose a non-basic chemistry |
Two of these causes are formulation interactions rather than ageing effects. Slip additives sit at the same film surface as a migrating antistat and compete for the same sites, so a formulator raising slip to fix blocking can inadvertently reduce antistatic performance. Amine-based antistats can also attack polycarbonate, which matters when the packaging touches polycarbonate parts rather than the packaging itself. A full account of how these effects combine is set out under additive interactions, the reference for synergy and antagonism across every additive family.
Two mechanical factors compound the chemical ones. Corona treatment, used to raise a film's surface energy for printing or lamination, accelerates migration to the treated side and can deplete the antistat there faster than on the untreated side, so an ageing test needs to account for it rather than measure only the as-made resistance. High crystallinity in HDPE and PP homopolymer slows migration to the surface in the first place, which means these resins need either a longer conditioning period before the antistat reaches full effect or a higher starting level to compensate. Synthetic silica used as antiblock additives adsorbs antistat and slip alike, which is why antiblock, slip and antistat levels are set together rather than one at a time.
Which Antistatic Additives Are Allowed in Food-Contact Packaging?#
Food-contact packaging may use only antistats listed in Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, within their specific migration limits, or cleared under 21 CFR 178.3130, within the use levels set there for each resin and food type. Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 sets a generic overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² and a generic specific migration limit of 60 mg/kg for substances without their own listed limit.
| Additive | CAS | EU 10/2011 | FDA 21 CFR 178.3130 (or other) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glycerol monostearate | 31566-31-1 (also 123-94-4) | FCM 53, no specific SML | 21 CFR 184.1324 (GRAS direct food substance); the packaging route depends on the grade and application |
| Ethoxylated amines (C12-C18) | 71786-60-2 and related | FCM 19 and 20, group restriction 7, SML(T) 1.2 mg/kg as tertiary amine | Max 0.1 % in polyolefin food-contact film |
| Ethoxylated amine (C13-C15) | 70955-14-5 | As above | Max 0.2 % in HDPE and PP containers for foods above pH 5; max 0.1 % in PP for other food types |
| Tallow amine | 61791-44-4 | As above | Max 0.15 % in PE containers |
| Lauric diethanolamide | 120-40-1 | FCM 923, SML 5 mg/kg, residual diethanolamine max 0.3 mg/kg food | Max 0.5 % in PE containers; max 0.2 % in PP film up to 30 µm |
| Sodium secondary alkanesulfonate | 68037-49-0 | FCM 16 (alkyl C8-C22 sulphonic acids), SML 6 mg/kg | Max 0.1 % in polyolefin film; max 3.0 % in PS and rubber-modified PS |
| Conductive carbon black | 1333-86-4 | FCM 411: max 2.5 % w/w in the polymer, toluene extractables max 0.1 %, benzo(a)pyrene max 0.25 mg/kg | 21 CFR 178.3297: channel-process or high-purity furnace black, total PAH max 0.5 ppm, benzo[a]pyrene max 5.0 ppb, max 2.5 wt%; other conductive grades need an FCN |
| Carbon nanotubes | 308068-56-6 | Not on the Union list; nanoforms only if explicitly authorised (Art. 9(2)), so not usable | Not cleared as a food-contact antistat |
FDA levels are maximum use levels, not recommended dosages. Check the resin, food type and condition of use in 21 CFR 178.3130.
Glycerol monostearate carries a Union list entry (FCM 53) with no specific migration limit and is separately listed as GRAS under 21 CFR 184.1324, but the packaging clearance route depends on the specific grade and application, so a formulator confirms both listings for the grade in hand rather than assuming a blanket clearance. 21 CFR 178.3130 covers "antistatic and/or antifogging agents" as a single category, and glycerol monostearate is one of the substances that serves both functions in the same film. Carbon nanotubes are not usable as a food-contact antistat in the EU: they are not on the Union list, and under Article 9(2) a nanoform can only be used if it has been explicitly authorised, which has not happened for MWCNT. Full detail on how specific and overall migration limits work is set out on the EU 10/2011 page, and how 21 CFR use levels and conditions of use apply is covered under FDA food contact rules.
Who Supplies Antistatic Additives and ESD Masterbatch?#
Antistatic additives for packaging come from a defined set of named producers, and the delivery form is usually masterbatch rather than neat additive. Glycerol monostearate is supplied by Croda, Nouryon, Palsgaard (Einar), Struktol (TR 151), Baerlocher (Baerolub L-MS), Peter Greven and Fine Organics, among others. Ethoxylated amines come from Croda (Atmer) and Nouryon (Armostat); Croda sold most of its Performance Technologies and Industrial Chemicals business to Cargill in July 2022, so the current commercial owner of specific Atmer grades should be confirmed with the supplier rather than assumed from that transaction alone.
| Chemistry | Suppliers |
|---|---|
| Glycerol monostearate | Croda, Nouryon, Palsgaard (Einar), Struktol (TR 151), Baerlocher (Baerolub L-MS), Peter Greven, Fine Organics, Riken Vitamin |
| Ethoxylated amines | Croda (Atmer), Nouryon (Armostat) |
| Lauric diethanolamide | Suppliers of Chemistat, Ninol and Mackamide type grades |
| Sodium secondary alkanesulfonate | Clariant (HOSTAPUR SAS 93) |
| Inherently dissipative polymers | Sanyo Chemical (Pelestat), BASF (Irgastat P), Arkema (Pebax MH/MV), Lubrizol (Stat-Rite), Croda (Ionphase), DuPont-type ionomers (Entira) |
| Conductive carbon black | Nouryon (Ketjenblack), Orion, Cabot, Imerys |
| Carbon nanotubes | Nanocyl (NC7000, PLASTICYL masterbatches), OCSiAl, Cnano, LG Chem, Cabot |
| Masterbatch | Ampacet and the other additive masterbatch houses |
Buyers should compare grades by chemistry and CAS number rather than by trade name, and ask each supplier for resistance data measured on their own resin rather than on a generic reference compound. Plants, grades and certifications by company are listed in the directory of antistatic additive manufacturers.
Request quotes for antistatic additives and ESD masterbatch: chemistry or CAS, resin, target surface resistance, volume and country, through the plastic additive supplier finder.
What Other Additives Does Electronics and Film Packaging Need?#
Antistatic additives are one layer of a packaging film formulation that also carries slip agents, antiblock, processing aids and antioxidants, and the same molecule often does two jobs: glycerol monostearate is both an antistat and an antifog agent. 21 CFR 178.3130 covers "antistatic and/or antifogging agents" as a single functional category for exactly this reason. The full formulation used across these functions is set out on additives for packaging film.
EMI shielding plastics compared with ESD packaging#
EMI shielding is a different requirement from ESD protection: it is measured as attenuation in decibels, where 20 dB means 99 % of the radiation is stopped, and it needs a conductive-filled or metallised plastic rather than a dissipative one. A shielding effectiveness of 40 dB corresponds to 99.99 % attenuation. Inherently dissipative polymers are not sufficient for EMI shielding on their own; the plastics routes that reach useful attenuation are conductive-filled compounds and metallised plastics. MWCNT-filled PP can reach more than 40 dB at 10 % CNT loading, and a recycled EPDM/PP/CaCO3 composite reached 30.4 dB at 5 vol% CNT with a percolation threshold of 0.25 vol%, reported by Moaref et al. (2023). EMI shielding plastics sets out the attenuation data and the metallising routes in full.
Antistatic agents in polyethylene and polypropylene film#
Polyethylene and polypropylene film use different migrating antistats: diethanolamides give the best result in LDPE and LLDPE, and ethoxylated amines in HDPE, because crystallinity controls how fast the additive reaches the surface. Glycerol monostearate itself is typically dosed at 0.15 % in LDPE and 0.3 % in HDPE, a difference driven by the same crystallinity effect.
Ionic antistats such as sodium secondary alkanesulfonate suit PVC and PS rather than PE, because their heat stability does not hold up at typical polyolefin processing temperatures. Grade choice by resin density for antistatic agents for polyethylene and the crystallinity effects covered on antistatic agents for polypropylene are set out on their own pages.
Which plastics are ESD safe?#
No polymer is ESD safe by itself: polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and PVC are all insulators, and they become ESD safe only when an antistatic additive, an inherently dissipative polymer or a conductive filler is compounded into them or a metal layer is laminated onto them. The full electrical and electronics additive package, flame retardants included, is set out under additives for electrical and electronics.
How can you make plastic antistatic after it is made?#
Antistatic performance is built in during compounding or added as masterbatch before extrusion; topical antistats sprayed or wiped onto a finished part work only until they are washed or rubbed off. Antistatic coatings and ionisation bars are outside the additive scope of this page; they change the surface after moulding rather than the plastic itself, and they sit in a different product category from the compounded and masterbatch routes covered here.
Are Ziploc bags antistatic?#
A standard polyethylene zipper bag is not antistatic: it carries no antistatic additive, so it sits at the insulative end of the scale and charges when it is opened or rubbed. Untreated PE sits at 10^15 to 10^16 ohm, well above the 1.0 x 10^11 ohm floor of the insulative class, and nothing in a standard zipper bag's formulation is designed to bring that resistance down.
Do antistatic bags stop working over time?#
Migrating antistats lose effect over time, because the surface layer is consumed and the reservoir in the polymer runs out: a glycerol monostearate treatment gives about 1 to 2 months of antistatic performance. Permanent antistats built as inherently dissipative polymers do not deplete in the same way, because their ion-conductive network runs through the bulk of the part rather than through a surface layer that can be wiped or washed away.
Every figure on this page is checked against primary sources; see our methodology and fact-checking process.