Static electricity is invisible.
You cannot see it building.
You usually cannot feel it at damaging levels.

Yet in industrial environments, especially in dry Australian conditions, it is capable of:

Destroying sensitive electronics
Igniting flammable atmospheres
Attracting dust and contaminating surfaces
Disrupting production lines
Increasing reject rates and downtime

If you’re unfamiliar with the fundamentals, start with our guide to static electricity before diving deeper into the charge-generation mechanism explained here.

The mechanism behind all of this is the triboelectric effect.

This guide explains how it works, why it is amplified in static electricity in Australia, and how to manage it systematically.

What Is the Triboelectric Effect?

The triboelectric effect is the generation of electrical charge when two different materials come into contact and then separate.

The word comes from the Greek tribo (to rub), but rubbing is not required. Simple contact and separation is enough.

When two materials touch:

Electrons transfer from one surface to another.
One material becomes positively charged (electron loss).
The other becomes negatively charged (electron gain).

This is the primary mechanism behind static electricity buildup.

What Happens at the Surface Level

At the atomic level:

Materials are made of atoms containing electrons.
When two materials touch, electrons can transfer across the interface.
When the materials separate, those transferred electrons remain trapped.

One surface becomes:

Negatively charged (gains electrons)

The other becomes:

Positively charged (loses electrons)

If the materials are electrical insulators, such as plastics, composites, rubber, or synthetic fabrics that charge has no easy path to dissipate.

It remains on the surface.

This process is the triboelectric effect in its simplest form:

Contact → Electron transfer → Separation → Trapped charge

That trapped charge is what we call static electricity.

Why Do Different Materials Exchange Electrons Differently?

Electron transfer is governed by material physics.

Several properties influence how strongly a material gives up or attracts electrons:

Work Function

The energy required to remove an electron from a surface.
Lower work function = electrons released more easily.

Electron Affinity

How strongly a material attracts additional electrons.
Higher affinity = more likely to become negatively charged.

Surface Energy States

Surface atoms are chemically incomplete and highly reactive, increasing the likelihood of electron exchange.

Surface Contamination & Moisture

Even microscopic films of oil, dust, or water vapour significantly change charge behaviour.

Practical takeaway:
The greater the difference between two materials in these properties, the greater the static charge generated when they separate.

The Triboelectric Series: Material Ranking

Engineers use the triboelectric series to predict charge behaviour.

Materials at the top tend to lose electrons (become positive).
Materials at the bottom tend to gain electrons (become negative).

Tends to Become Positive	Tends to Become Negative
Human skin	Silicone rubber
Glass	PTFE (Teflon)
Nylon	Polyethylene
Wool	Polypropylene
Paper	PVC
Cotton	Polyester

Key principle:
The further apart two materials are in the series, the greater the potential charge generated.

For example:

Nylon against PTFE → high static generation
Paper against cotton → comparatively low

In industrial systems, unintentional material pairings often create extreme charge generation without operators realising it.

Where Triboelectric Charging Occurs in Industry

Triboelectric charging is especially problematic in:

Plastics manufacturing
Composite manufacturing
Automated packaging systems
Powder handling facilities

Material pairings and separation speeds determine risk magnitude.

For a deeper look at how different materials behave in static environments, see our materials cluster.

Triboelectric charging occurs anywhere materials contact and separate, including:

Conveyor belt systems
Plastic film unwind stations
Packaging lines
Injection moulding operations
Composite layup processes
Powder transfer systems
Bulk bag filling
Sheet stacking and feeding systems

In high-speed production environments, rapid separation dramatically increases charge accumulation.

What Determines How Much Charge Builds Up?

The triboelectric series predicts polarity, but magnitude depends on additional variables.

Material Type

Insulators retain charge.
Conductors dissipate charge rapidly if grounded.

Surface Roughness

Greater microscopic contact area increases electron transfer.

Contact Pressure

Higher pressure increases surface interaction.

Separation Speed

Fast separation “locks in” charge.
Slow separation allows partial re-equilibration.

Humidity (Critical Factor)

Above ~60% relative humidity (RH), charge dissipates naturally.
Below 40% RH, static accumulation becomes severe.
Between 10–30% RH, problems can become extreme.

Humidity, airflow, and facility design significantly affect charge retention.

We explore these environmental static factors in detail within our Environments cluster.

Why Static Electricity Is Worse in Australia

Many facilities operate in environments where humidity regularly drops below critical thresholds.

If you operate in inland or air-conditioned facilities, you may already experience elevated risk from static electricity in dry climates..

Low humidity dramatically reduces natural charge dissipation, increasing peak voltages and discharge frequency.ry in dry Australian conditions.

Static electricity in Australia is not a seasonal inconvenience, it is a predictable environmental risk.

The Real-World Effects of the Triboelectric Effect

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is one of the most costly consequences of triboelectric charging.

If you’re unsure how industrial static differs from electronic component damage, see our detailed breakdown of ESD vs general static..

Industries most exposed include the electronics industry, where discharge thresholds are far below human perception.

The Triboelectric Effect

When a charged object approaches a conductor, charge can jump the gap in a rapid discharge.

This is electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Why It’s Dangerous

Humans feel discharges around 3,000 volts.
Sensitive electronics can be damaged at 100–200 volts.
Many discharges occur below the human perception threshold.

This creates latent defects:
Components pass testing but fail weeks later in the field.

Industries at risk:

PCB assembly
Semiconductor handling
Medical device manufacturing
Telecommunications equipment
Aerospace electronics

ESD damage is often invisible and extremely costly.

2. Dust Attraction & Surface Contamination

Charged surfaces create electric fields that attract airborne particles.

Consequences:

Paint defects in automotive refinishing
Weak bonding in composites
Contamination in electronics
Hygiene concerns in food packaging

The effect is self-reinforcing:
Dust accumulation alters surface resistivity and can worsen static behaviour.

3. Ignition Risk in Flammable Environments

In environments containing:

Solvent vapours
Fuel atmospheres
Fine combustible dust
Powdered chemicals

A static discharge can act as an ignition source.

Industries with elevated ignition risk include:

Grain handling
Chemical processing
Fuel storage
Powder coating
Pharmaceutical manufacturing

Unlike an open flame, static discharge is invisible and instantaneous, making it a serious safety hazard.

4. Production Disruption

Static causes operational inefficiencies such as:

Film cling
Sheet misfeeds
Powder clumping
Label application errors
Component sticking

These issues translate directly into:

Increased downtime
Higher reject rates
Manual intervention
Reduced throughput

In automated environments, small disruptions compound rapidly.

5. Operator Discomfort & Human Error

Repeated small shocks create:

Fatigue
Distraction
Hesitation in handling materials

In precision environments, distraction increases error risk.

Measuring Static Electricity

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

Industrial measurement tools include:

Electrostatic Field Meters

Measure electric field strength near charged surfaces.

Surface Resistance Meters

Classify materials as:

Conductive (<10⁵ ohms)
Static-dissipative (10⁵–10¹² ohms)
Insulative (>10¹² ohms)

Charge Plate Monitors

Used to evaluate ioniser decay performance.

Measurement provides:

Baseline risk assessment
Control verification
Compliance support
Data-driven decision making

How to Control the Triboelectric Effect

The objective is not to eliminate contact, that is impossible in manufacturing.

The objective is to:

Reduce charge generation
Provide safe dissipation pathways
Prevent hazardous discharge

Effective programs layer multiple strategies.

1. Material Selection (Design Stage)

When selecting surface types or production components, understanding the difference between anti-static vs conductive materials is critical.

Material classification determines whether charge dissipates or accumulates.

Use:

Static-dissipative plastics
Conductive additives
ESD-safe flooring and surfaces

Design-stage control is the most cost-effective intervention.

2. Grounding & Bonding

For conductive materials:

Provide continuous ground paths
Bond containers before transferring flammable liquids

Grounding prevents charge accumulation on conductors, but does not help insulators.

3. Humidity Control

Maintaining 50–60% RH reduces static naturally.

Limitations:

Energy intensive
Climate dependent
Not suitable for all processes
Often insufficient alone in dry regions

4. Ionisation Systems

Ionisers emit balanced positive and negative ions that neutralise surface charge.

Used in:

Electronics assembly
Cleanrooms
Plastics processing

Critical parameters:

Ion balance
Decay time

5. Anti-Static Surface Treatments

Surface treatments lower surface resistivity, allowing charge to dissipate gradually.

They are particularly useful for:

Existing facilities
Insulative plastics
Composite panels
Production equipment

In dry Australian environments, surface treatments often form a key component of static control programs where humidity alone cannot manage charge effectively.

For a structured implementation roadmap, see our full static prevention strategy guide.

Triboelectric Effect vs Electrostatic Induction

These mechanisms are often confused.

Triboelectric effect
→ Generates new charge through contact and separation.

Electrostatic induction
→ Redistributes existing charge without contact.

Most industrial static problems originate from triboelectric charging.

A Structured Framework for Managing Static Risk

To manage static effectively:

1. Identify charge generation points

Where are materials contacting and separating?

2. Assess consequences

Are sensitive electronics, flammable atmospheres, or surface finish requirements downstream?

3. Measure actual charge levels

Use field meters and resistance measurement.

4. Select layered controls

Combine material selection, grounding, ionisation, humidity, and surface treatments as required.

5. Account for your environment

In dry Australian conditions, assume higher baseline risk.

Final Perspective

The triboelectric effect is not random.
It is not mysterious.
It is not unavoidable.

It is predictable, measurable, and controllable.

The same physics that causes a small shock from a door handle is capable of:

Destroying electronics
Igniting combustible atmospheres
Degrading production efficiency

Businesses that treat static electricity as a systems-level engineering issue outperform those that treat it as a nuisance.

Understanding the triboelectric effect is the foundation.
Control begins there.