An eco-friendly approach towards leather dyeing using fungal pigments

Abstract

There is a growing demand for eco-friendly and non-toxic dyes that can be used to impart colour to a wide variety of materials. Many synthetic dyes are known to cause health hazards due to possible carcinogenic effects associated with high heavy metal concentration and the possible use of other restricted substances. The present study aims at the extraction of pigments from fungi, which can be used as an alternative to synthetic dyes used for leather dyeing. The use of agricultural wastes for enhanced fungal growth and pigment production was also envisaged. The pigment thus obtained was subjected to characterization using analytical techniques like CHNS, FTIR, DSC and TGA. These pigments were further used for leather dyeing and effect of process parameters like colour fastness, rub fastness and heat resistant properties were analyzed and conditions optimized.