Relationships between Dyeing Conditions and Dyeability of Extracts from Oil Palm Tree

The dyeing of fabrics by using the extracts from trunk, empty fruit bunch, mesocarp and palm kernel shell (PKS) of oil palm trees was tried and the relationships between dyeing conditions and dyeability were studied. It was found that the PKS extracts obtained by the extraction with water dye silk fabric brownish orange colour and they show highest dyeability among the extracts. The dyeing results for silk fabric by PKS extracts with an increase in the amount of extracts in the dyeing solution do not show general dyeing behaviour. The hue of dyed silk changes and the lightness decreases and slightly increases with an increase in the supplied amount of extracts. It indicates that the colourants in PKS extracts may be oxidised and they change chemically during dyeing process and/or the colourant molecules might form aggregates and the composition of dyestuffs adsorbed on fibre varies. The dyeability of silk by PKS extracts increases with increasing dyeing time and temperature. Furthermore, it was revealed that wool, cotton, ramie and nylon are also dyed by PKS extracts. This study has clarified for the first time that the extracts from PKS of oil palm trees work as a useful dye.