Browsing by Subject "fucus vesiculosus"

Textile dyeing processes remain environmentally hazardous and there is a need to develop more sustainable dyeing methods and dye sources. Natural dye sources such as plants and funghi have been researched but there is little or no research on algae as a dye source. Bladderwrack (Fucus Vesiculosus) has intrigued researchers around the globe; they try to find potential new uses for it in medicine, food industry etc. This research aims to find out the potential colours obtainable from bladderwrack on cotton, bamboo and wool knit fabrics. The colour fastness of the dyed textiles is tested with standardised colour fastness tests on domestic laundering, abrasion and daylight, to determine if bladderwrack could be a potential dye source in future. In this experimental research textile samples were at first dyed with bladderwrack using various mordanting methods. Mordanting methods used were alum, alum with tannin, tannin, 12-hour tannin and a 3-step method (alum – tannin – alum). Along with mordanted samples also unmordanted 0-samples were dyed and tested. After dyeing the samples were tested according to standardised colour fastness tests. Test samples were graded according to grey-scales, blue wool scale and, in case of colours obtained and colour fastness on domestic laundering test, the colour change was also measured with a CIELab – spectrophotometer to achieve L-, a-, b-values. Test results underwent a qualitative process where descriptive analysis was used. All specimens where analysed with quantitative methods and numeric data was collected from both, grey-scales and photometric measurements. Bladderwrack proved to be a viable dye source. It had a fair to good colour fastness throughout tests, although some variation did occur in between different fibres and mordanting methods. Wool did dye up to a much more vivid and darker shade of brown than cotton and bamboo that both came out of dye bath in various shades of beige. No mordanting method proved to be above others but unmordanted samples did well in all tests. There seems to be potential using bladderwrack as a textile dye source. Therefore, further research is needed to discover its full potential.