ANTISTATIC ADDITIVE IN ATF

Electrical charge can be generated when dissimilar surfaces move across each other, for example, when fuel moves through a pipe, hose, valve, or fine filter. The rate at which the static charge dissipates is proportional to the liquid's ability to conduct electricity (electrical conductivity). Pure hydrocarbons are essentially nonconductors. While jet fuel is composed of hydrocarbons, it is a slightly better conductor because it contains trace amounts of ionizable compounds, e.g., water, phenols, and naphthenic acids.

Conductivity of fuels is usually expressed in conductivity units (CU),
1 CU = 1 pico Siemens/meter (1 pS/m) 1 X 10^–12 ohm^–1 meter^–1.
Kerosenes may have conductivity ranging from less than 1 CU to perhaps
20 CU. For comparison, deionized water has a conductivity of about 10 million CU.

Filtering or rapidly pumping a liquid that is a relatively poor electrical
conductor, like jet fuel, can result in a static charge being created much
faster than it dissipates. When the accumulated charge exceeds the ionization
potential of the air above the liquid, it can discharge from the liquid surface
as a spark. The energy of the spark can initiate an explosion if the liquid is
flammable and the composition of vapor and air in the vicinity is in the flammable range.

To prevent explosions triggered by a static discharge, well designed fuel
handling systems use bonding and grounding (or earthing), pumping rate
limits, and time for charge dissipation (relaxation time), before the fuel is
exposed to air.
Military jet fuels and international Jet A-1 require the use
of an additive to increase the electrical conductivity of the fuel. Conductivity
improving additives are also called anti-static additives or static dissipator
additives. Use of the additive reduces the hazard of charge accumulation for
handling situations that are less than optimum. The additive does not pre-
vent charge generation, rather it increases the rate of charge dissipation by
increasing fuel conductivity.

To minimise the risk of catastrophic self-disassembly in mid air.