Extraction of Natural Dye from Ketapang Leaf (Terminalia catappa) for Coloring Textile Materials

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to extract natural dye substances from Ketapang leaf. This leaf contains tannin substance that can be used as natural dye for textile materials. This natural dye is one of potential alternatives to the synthetic dyes because it is environmentally friendly and also Ketapang leaf is abundantly available, especially in Indonesia country. The brief detail of Ketapang leaf extraction process can be explained as follow: Ketapang leaf was soaked/immersed in distilled water for several periods (i.e. 4, 6, and 8 days) by using maceration method. From the experimental results, the optimal immersion time was reached at 6 days. The tannin content in the extract was also determined by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. To test the performance of this natural dye, textile material made of 100% cotton was immersed in tannin solution for 60 min, squeezed, and the color was raised with three different fixer solutions, i.e. alum (Al2(SO4)3, kapur tohor (CaO), and tunjung (FeSO4) 50 g/L for 60 min. The fabrics were then tested for color fastness using detergent washing method and rubbing method (with crockmeter test). The test results showed that the fabric with alum as the fixer exhibited the optimum result for fastness test.