Biocolor: natural dyes from plant extracts

In the Biocolor project, the research centre Sustainable Industries is investigating how natural dyes can be sustainably extracted from waste streams and locally grown crops and applied in industries such as textiles and food.

In short:

  • Many synthetic dyes are toxic and come from non-renewable sources.
  • Biocolor investigates dyes from agricultural waste and locally grown crops.
  • The focus is on green extraction techniques such as aqueous extraction and supercritical CO2.
  • Case studies determine the industrial applications of three selected feedstock streams.

Output:

Contact

annelore.wens@kdg.be

Research question

Many synthetic dyes are still used in industry. These dyes are often toxic when released into the environment, for example via wastewater. Moreover, synthetic dyes are usually derived from non-renewable raw materials. So there is a need for natural, renewable raw materials.

In the Biocolor project, the research centre Sustainable Industries wants to extract dyes from two raw material streams: waste/side streams from agriculture or more generally from agri-food companies and crops that can be grown locally (in Flanders and the Netherlands). The whole value chain is represented in this project, i.e. suppliers of the two raw material streams, a company performing extractions on an industrial scale and companies using the dyes.

Several aspects are therefore covered:

  • Economic relevance (annual available quantity of the raw material, content of dye in the raw material, ...).
  • Stability of the dye (colour fastness, oxidative stability, microbial stability, ...).
  • Possible applications (case studies in textiles, food, ink, paints, ...).

At the start of the project, a screening of a large number of promising raw materials takes place. Based on this screening, three feedstock streams are selected for which extraction will be optimised. The focus here is on green extraction techniques such as aqueous extraction and extraction with supercritical CO2. For the three selected raw materials, potential applications are studied in detail using case studies.

The result of the project is a publication/report 'Natural dyes based on plant extracts' in which for each selected raw material/dye the whole chain is described: cultivation method and/or pre-treatment, optimal extraction procedure, possible purification steps and industrial applications.

Want to know more, collaborate or have a press question?

You can collaborate with our research centre Sustainable Industries on topics such as:

  • Greening chemical processes and reusing waste streams.
  • AI-based tools developed in-house, to optimise your processes and products.
  • Developing alternative propulsion systems, alternative fuel systems, and emission measurements of internal combustion engines.
  • Vehicle data analyses using simulations and reverse engineering on CAN bus systems.

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