CHEMISTRY PROJECT

NATURAL DYES

NAME : SHAMRIDHA GHOSH

CLASS : XII S3
AISSCE ROLL NO :

EXAM : AISSCE 2024-25

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 INDEX

Sl. No. SUBJECT Pg. No.

1. Preface 3
2. Acknowledgement 4
3. Teacher’s Certificate 5
4. Introduction 6
5. Dyeing Process 8
6. Types of Dyes 10
7. Natural Methods of Dyeing 13
8. Innovative Methods for Extraction of 15
Dyes
9. Types of Fabric to Use 17
10. Natural Sources of Some Shades of 18
Dyes
11. Examples of Natural Dyes 20
12. Conclusion 25
13. Bibliography 26

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 PREFACE
This project Natural Dyes has been undertaken as a part of
the Chemistry curriculum of class 12.
AISSCE 2025 of CBSE
The experimental details of the project have been discussed
in detail in the upcoming pages.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to my subject teacher
Mrs. Moumita Mukherjee,
And my laboratory assistant teacher,
whose vital assistance helped me complete the project on
Natural Dyes

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 TEACHER’S CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project titled – Natural Dyes has
been successfully completed by SHAMRIDHA GHOSH, of
class XII S3 of Bhavan’s Gangabux Kanoria Vidyamandir,
in partial fulfilment of the curriculum of CBSE in the
academic year 2024-25.
The experimental details of the project have been discussed
in detail in the upcoming pages.

…………………… …………………….
Internal Signature External Signature

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 INTRODUCTION
Natural Dyes are dyes derived from animal or plant material
without any chemical treatment. They are obtained from sources
like flowers, leaves, insects, bark roots etc., however, they are not
readily available and involve an extraction process. In prehistoric
time, natural colourants were usually obtained from berries,
blossoms and barks and roots. They were applied to the fibre
without any pretreatment of the dye-material or the textile. In the
middle of the nineteenth century, the introduction of synthetic dyes
marked the decline in the use of natural dyes.

In the present scenario, several advantages conferred by natural

dyes make them an attractive option over synthetic dyes.

1. Biodegradable
2. Non-toxic
3. Environment Friendly

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Despite these advantages, use of natural dyes is practised in certain
clusters only. This can be attributed to the limitations imposed by
these dyes, which are –
1. No assurance of shade repeatability.
2. Extraction process is laborious and not economical
3. Variability in the quality and quantity of extraction depending
upon the age and season of the flower, fruit, plant, tree etc.
and hence standardization is difficult.
4. Most dyes need a mordant to fix the colour.

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 DYEING PROCESS
Dyeing is governed by 3 factors, the dye, the fiber and the fiber
liquor. All three lead an independent assistance which influences
the technique of dyeing. A dye must be water soluble in order to
dye textile materials. It may be soluble by nature of its chemical
interference.
The dyeing process can thus be considered as taking place in three
phases :-

• Attachment of the dye molecule to the surface if the fiber.

• Penetration into the intermolecular spaces as well as
diffusion though the fiber
• Orientation (and fixation) along the long chain molecule.

Accumulation of the dye in the fiber is a gradual process, the rate

of such building up referred to as the ‘rate of dyeing’.

• This rate of dyeing is governed by the condition of the dye

bath, namely concentration of dye, temperature and
presence of electrolytes; it is proportional to all the three
factors.
• The rate of dyeing is also influence by the “material to
liquor” which is expressed by a fraction, e.g. 1:20, which
means one part (by weight) of the textile material dyed in
twenty time the weight of the dye bath,
• The rate of dyeing decreased with increasing ratio of goods
to liquor.
The amount of dye needed for the production of a certain depth of
shade is expressed as a percentage of the weight of the material. A

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1% dyeing represents a shade produced by the colouring of 100 lbs
of material with one lb of (commercial) dye, under well defined
dyeing condition. Exhaustion determines the amount of dye, which
is taken up the fiber or in directly, that amount which remains in
the dye bath after ‘equilibrium’ between dye and the fiber is
reached, i.e., at the point where no further dyeing take place.

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 TYPES OF DYES

I. Natural Dyes
II. Acid Dyes
III. Basic Dyes
IV. Synthetic Dyes
V. Direct Dyes
VI. Disperse Dyes
VII. Sulphur Dyes
VIII. Pigment Dyes
IX. Mordant Dyes
X. Vat Dyes
XI. Reactive Dyes
XII. Macromolecular Dyes
XIII. Metallized Dyes

1. NATURAL DYES
Direct Printing, it is the most common approach to apply a
colour pattern onto a fabric. If done on coloured fabric, it is
known as overprinting. The desired pattern is produced by
pressing dye on the fabric in a paste form. To prepare the
print paste, a thickening agent is added to a limited amount of
water and dye is dissolved in it. Earlier starch was getting
preferred as thickening agent for printing. Nowadays gums or
alginates derived from seaweed are preferred as they allow
better penetration of colour and are easier to wash out.

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 2. ACID DYES
A class of dyes used on wool, other animal fibers and some
manufactured fibers. Acid dyes are seldom used on cotton or
linen since this process requires a mordant. Acid dyes are
widely used on nylon when might fastness is required. In
some cases, even higher wash fastness can be obtained by
treatment with fixative.

3. BASIC DYES
Basic dyes are water-soluble and are mainly used to dye
acrylic fibers. They are mostly used with a mordant. With
mordant, basic dyes are used for cotton, linen , acetate, nylon,
polyesters, acrylics and modacrylics. Other than acrylic, basic
dyes are not very suitable for any other fiber as they are not
made to withstand light, washing or perspiration. Thus, they
are generally used for giving an after treatment to the fabrics
that have already been dyed with acid dyes.

4. SYNTHETIC DYES
Synthetic dyes are classified based upon their chemical
composition and the method of their application in the dyeing
process.

5. DISPERSE DYES
Disperse dyes are water insoluble. These dyes are finally
ground and are available as a paste or a powder that gets
dispersed in water. These particles dissolve in the fibers and
impart colour to them. These dyes were originally developed
for the dyeing of cellulose acetate but now they are used to

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 dye nylon, cellulose triacetate and acrylic fibres too.

6. SULPHUR DYES
Sulphur dyes are insoluble and made soluble by the help of
caustic soda and sodium sulphide. Dyeing is done at high
temperature with large quantities of salt so that the colour
penetrates into the fiber. Excess dyes and chemicals are
removed by thorough washing. These dyes are fast made to
withstand light, washing and perspiration and are mainly used
for cotton and linen.

7. PIGMENT DYES
Although pigments are not dyes in a true sense. They are
extensively used for colouring fabrics like cotton, wool and other
man-made fiber due to their excellent light fastness. They do not
have an affinity to the fibers. After dyeing, the fabrics are
subjected to high temperature

8. MORDANT DYES
The mordant of chrome dyes are acidic in nature in character.
Sodium or potassium dichromate is used with them in the
dyebath or after the process of dyeing is complicated. This is
done for getting the binding actions of the chrome. They are
mostly used for a wool which gets a good colour fastness after
treatment with mordant dyes. They are also used for cotton,
linen, silk, rayon and my but are effective.

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 NATURAL METHODS OF
DYEING
We shall never know by what chances primitive man discovered
that salt, vinegar from fermenting fruit, natural alum, and stale urine
helped to fix and enhance the colours of his yarns, but for many
centuries these four substances were used as mordants.

Salt helps to “fix” or increase “fastness” of colours, vinegar

improves red and purple colours, and the ammonia in stale urine
assists in the fermentation of indigo dyes. Natural alum (aluminium
sulphate) is the most common metallic salt mordant, but in tin
(stannous chloride), copper (cupric sulphate), iron (ferrous
sulphate) and chrome (potassium dichromate) are also used. Iron
mordants “sadden” colours (dull the colours), while tin and chrome
mordants brighten colours. The iron mordants contribute to fabric
deterioration, referred to as “dye rot”. Additional chemicals or
alterants may be applied after dyeing to further alter or reinforce
the colours.

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Textiles may be dyes as raw fibre (dues in the fleece or dyed in the
wool), as spun yarn (dyed in the hank or yarn-dyed), or after
weaving (piece-dyed). Mordants often leave residue in wool fibre
that makes it difficult to spin, so wool was generally dyed after
spinning, as yarn or woven cloth. Indigo, however, required no
mordant, and cloth manufactures in medieval England often dyed
wool in the fleece with the indigo-bearing plant woad and then
dyed the cloth again after weaving to produce deep blues, browns,
reds, purples, blacks and tawnies.

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 INNOVATIVE METHOD FOR
EXTRACTION OF DYES
• Efficient extraction of dye from the plant material is very
important for standardization and optimization of vegetable
dyes.
• A) Soxhlet
B) Supercritical fluid extraction
C) Subcritical water extraction
D) Sonicator methods

1. SOXHLET
When a compound needs to be extracted from a solid mixture a
Soxhlet extraction can be carried out. The technique places a
specialized piece of glassware in between a flask and a condenser.
The refluxing solvent repeatedly washes the solid extracting the
desired compound into the flask. Soxhlet extraction was carried
out for colorant identification. In this work dried plant parts were
put into thistle of Soxhlet extractor and methanol used as a
solvent. Temperature of the instrument was maintained well
under boiling point of the used solvent. Several cycles of solvent
were run so as to extract all the compounds from plant parts

2. SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION
SCFE is a two-step process, which uses a dense gas as solvent
(usually carbon dioxide) above its critical temperature (31°C) and
critical pressure (74 bar) for extraction. The natural product is
powdered and charged into the extractor. Carbon dioxide is fed
to the extractor through a high-pressure pump (100-350 bar). The

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extract dioxide is sent to a separator (60-120 bar) via a pressure
reduction value.

3. SUBCRITICAL EXTRACTION
SCWE was performed with some plants to extract natural
colorant. The water was purged with nitrogen to remove
dissolved oxygen prior tot the extraction. Deoxygenated water
was used in a HPLC pump programmed for a constant flow of 1-3
ml/min. A 10.4 ml extraction cell equipped with a 0.5m frit at the
inlet and outlet was connected to a 1m cooling loop (in ice water)
outside of the oven. A pressure control valve was placed between
the cooling loop and the connection vial. The extraction was
carried out in efficient manner.

4. SONICATOR
Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was carried out by mixing
dried and ground sample in methanol or any solvent in a flask,
which was then placed in an ultrasonic bath for 30min. At the
beginning, the temperature of extraction was 20-40°C and after
one hour of extraction it becomes 60°C. The extraction was
repeated two-three times, and the extracts were collected.

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 TYPES OF FABRIC TO USE
• Cotton, linen, rayon, ramie and viscose rayon :- Procion MX,
RIT, Dylon or iDye for natural fabrics.
• Silk, wool, nylon, Lycra, acid-dyeable acrylics, human hair, yak
hair :- Jacquard Acid, RIT, Dylon and iDye Poly for nylon.
• Polyester : iDye Poly
• Acrylic and wool blends : acid dyes (Jacquard Acid) will colour
both the acrylic and the wool.
• Silk and Linen blends :- fiber-reactive dye (Procion MX) in one
bath, and a subsequent bath is an acid dye (Jacquard Acid). You
can use a union dye (RIT or Dylon) or iDye for natural fabrics
instead, but the colour won’t be as intense.
• Cotton and spandex :- fiber-reactive dyes (Procion MX) to
guarantee the colour will last through washing.
• Blended fabrics with both synthetic dyes and natural fibers: use
iDye Poly and corresponding iDye Natural at the same time.
• Wool: Jacquard Acid but remember a gradual heating and
gradual cooling of the dyebath is important so as not to shock
the felt of the wool.

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 NATURAL SOURCES OF SOME
SHADES OF DYES
Not all natural materials will produce a dye, and some produce
colours that are nothing like the original plant it came from. Here
is a list of colours and the plant material that will give you shades
in that colour.

Natural Dyes

• Orange : carrots, gold lichen

• Brown : oak bark, walnut hulls, tea, coffee, acorns
• Pink : berries, cherries, roses, avocado skins/seeds
• Blue : indigo, woad, read cabbage, mulberries,
blueberries, purple grapes, dogwood bark
• Red : pomegranates, beets, bamboo, hibiscus

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 • Grey-Black : blackberries, iris root
• Purple : red sumac berries, basil leaves, daylilies
• Green : artichokes, spinach, peppermint leaves,
lilacs, grass, peach leaves
• Yellow : bay leaves, marigolds, sunflower petals,
turmeric, yellowroot.

Dried plant material will usually give you muted colours and
sometimes no colour at all. Chop the plant material in very
small pieces to give you more surface area. If the plant is
tough, like yellow-dock roots, smash the root with a
hammer to make it fibrous. This will also give you more
exposed surface area. If you know that you won’t need it for
a while, but the plant is at it’s peak, like nettle, you can chop
it up and freeze it for a few months. Just be sure to label it.

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 EXAMPLES OF SOME NATURAL
DYES

1. PINK DYE
Betanin, or Beetroot Red, is a red glycosidic food dye
obtained from beets; its aglycone, obtained by hydrolysing
away the glucose molecule, is betanidin. As a food additive,
its E number is E612.

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2. YELLOW DYE
Curcumin, also known as diferuloylmethane, is an active
the spice turmeric. It is a highly pleiotropic molecule that
exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic,
antioxidant, wound-healing, and antimicrobial activities.
As a food additive, its E number is E100.

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3. GREEN DYE
Chlorophyll imparts the green colour to spinach which is
used as the dye. Chlorophyll molecules are complex
pigments containing a porphyrin ring with a magnesium ion
at the centre, making them highly effective at absorbing
light in the blue and red regions of the spectrum. However,
it is sensitive to light, heat and pH, meaning that it’s colour
might change.

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4. BROWN DYE
Melanoidins, polyphenols and tannins contribute to the
brown colour of coffee. Concentration of these pigments
depends on the coffee’s roast level. The tannins and
melanoidins act as natural mordants. However, they are
also light sensitive and their colour fades over exposure to
sunlight.

Melanoidin

Tannin

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