Author(s)

Jakpa Wizi¹, Lixiao Ni^1*, Cunhao Du¹, Benjamin Kwablah Asinyo², Ebenezer Kofi Howard², Charles Frimpong²

¹Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, MOE; School of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.
²Department of Textiles, Kwame Nkrumah university of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Most water bodies worldwide are infested with algae bloom and Lake Taihu is no exception, various techniques have been developed to harvest microalgae from Lake Taihu as part of the lake cleaning program and this results in a large algae biomass to deal with. This study made use of the algae biomass harvested as a biocolorants source for textile application and also evaluated its dyeing characteristics with mercerized and bleached cotton. The fabrics were dyed with either ultrasound or water bath method. The ultrasound method improved dye extraction yield from 17.8% for the conventional method to 26.7%, which was also enhanced to 33.2% with the addition of HCl (1 cm). The ultrasound dyeing method was effective at improving dye uptake at a reduced dyeing temperature when compared to the conventional method and also produced different shades of color after dyeing with different mordants. The dyed fabrics had good fastness properties for laundry, crocking and light. The dyed fabrics also showed a good ultraviolet protection factor. The use of algae biomass as a potential source of colorants for textile application will provide an alternate dye source that is environmentally friendly.

Algae Biomass, Ultrasound-assisted Dyeing, Cotton Fabric, Solvent, Color Fastness

Wizi, J. , Ni, L. , Du, C. , Asinyo, B. , Howard, E. and Frimpong, C. (2022) Harnessing Microalgae Biomass from Lake Taihu as a Natural Biocolorant Source for Sustainable Eco-Friendly Dyeing of Cotton with Ultrasonication. Journal of Textile Science and Technology, 8, 107-121. doi: 10.4236/jtst.2022.82009.