Sustainable process for the pretreatment and dyeing of Eri silk

Abstract

The green process route for pre-treatment and dyeing of Eri silk is proposed and investigated in this study. The natural plant-based saponins were extracted from Sapindus mukorossi by aaqueous extraction technique. Extracted Saponins showed a high emulsification index (68), low surface tension (41 dyne/cm), mild foaming (200 mm), and a slightly acidic pH, these characteristic properties are considered to be best suited for the processing of silk. The degumming was performed using Sapindus extract liquid with a concentration of 10% (owf) for 60 min at a temperature of 95 °C. The Eri silk degumming produced similar weight loss (4.63%), water absorbency (3 s) and optical properties - whiteness (80.33), yellowness (2.27) and brightness (70.05), as compared to the conventional process. The tensile strength (8.28 kgf)) and elongation (34.29%) was found to be better than the properties of the fabric processed with conventional chemical processing. The dyeing of degummed and bleached Eri silk with natural dyes showed comparable colour depth and uniformity of shade as compared to the conventional chemical processing. The overall fastness performance of dyed Eri silk was in line with the industry standards. Advanced characterization techniques such as FTIR was used for structural analysis of treated Eri silk.