Optimization of dyeing process parameters for dyeing of cotton fabric using extracts of aloe succotrina

There is presently an intentional shift in research from synthetic dyes, which are considered as harmful to the environment to more environmentally friendly dyes such as natural dyes that are derived from plant and animal sources. Apart from being friendly to the environment, some natural dyes have the unique advantage of being able to impart antimicrobial and antifungal finish properties to fabric hence introducing therapeutic potentials in them. For proper dyeing of fabric, dyeing parameters need to be optimized to achieve the best fastness results. In this paper, we investigate and report the optimum dyeing conditions for the dyeing of extracts from Aloe succotrina, a unique royal purple dye, onto cotton fabric. Dyeing was done on pure, scoured and mercerized fabric sourced from Rivatex East Africa in Eldoret. Four conditions namely, temperature, pH, dye concentration and time were optimized by measuring the highest colour strength (K/S) value. To further evaluate the colour of the dyed fabric, CIELAB values were recorded for each of the optimized parameters using a spectrometer. The optimum dyeing conditioned were as follows, the optimum pH was 7.1, temperature 100 ℃, dyeing concentration undiluted and time 60 Minutes.