Natural dyes being developed in Uttar Pradesh

Varanasi, Dec 15 (ANI): Eco-friendly natural dyes are being developed at a university in Uttar Pradesh to meet the increasing demand in the west.

These dyes are made using naturally available materials like onion peels, pomegranate seeds and pulp and rose petal.

Techniques used for extraction of the natural dyes are solvent extraction technology, enzymatic extraction technology and ultra sonic technology.

Raw material used for making these dyes is first broken down into smaller pieces, in order to control the moisture. This material is dried and after drying powder is first made out of them.

Then the raw material is put in water for 24 hours and mixed with enzymes. The enzyme breaks the cell walls and drains the colours out of the material.

Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Professor of chemical engineering at Banaras Hinduniversity said that merely extracting the natural dyes was not enough. What is more important was how strongly the dye held on to the fabric.

"It is not important to merely extract the colours but what is more important is that these colours should hold on to the dyed material so when a sari, carpet or any other textile is dyed with these colours the colour should stick to the material and not fade away. Their brightness should be maintained," said Mishra.

Arun Kumar Aggarwal, an exporter expressed his satisfaction over the dyes being developed as the textiles dyed naturally were most sought after in the west.

"Some years ago, the buyers from London and other western countries refused the textiles dyed with benzene. They believed that these textiles caused skin cancer. So, the buyers preferred textiles with no benzene. So these eco-friendly colours are welcome," said Aggarwal.

Though a bit expensive compared to synthetic colours, the popularity of herbal dyes is growing. y Girish Kumar Dubey (ANI)