Fungal dyes for textile applications: testing of industrial conditions for wool fabrics dyeing

Natural dyes and pigments have been proposed as an eco-friendly alternative to artificial pigments. Among the diverse organisms able to synthesize natural dyes and pigments, several wood inhabiting fungi produce extracellular compounds which have been tested to dye fabrics at laboratory conditions with good results. However, the dyeing conditions used at laboratory level not necessary meet the real conditions in which dyeing of fabrics is conducted at industrial level. In this work, yellow and red dyes producing fungi, Penicillium murcianum and Talaromyces australis, respectively, were isolated from wood samples and used to dye wool fabrics at conditions of temperature, pH, additives, and equipment similar to those used at industrial level. After dyeing treatments, color fastness to washing, wet and dry rubbing, and tensile strength were tested. Satisfactory results were found when the dyes were used individually and mixed to different proportions. According to the results, natural dyes synthesized by these two wood inhabiting fungi have great potential to be used for dyeing of wool at industrial level.