Synthetic organic dyes are manmade dyes derived from petroleum products rather than occurring naturally. They are classified based on their solubility and chemical properties into categories like acid dyes, basic dyes, direct dyes, reactive dyes, disperse dyes, vat dyes, azoic dyes, sulphur dyes, and mordant dyes, which dye different fibers like wool, silk, cotton, nylon, and polyester. The global market for textile dyes is projected to grow significantly due to the increasing demand for dyes to color various fiber types like cotton, polyester, and viscose for clothing and other textile applications.

1. SYNTHETIC
ORGANIC
DYES
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2. Basics – What is Synthetic Organic Dye?
Synthetic organic dyes come from cracking crude oil.
The specific colors, attributes, and ranges come from
chemicals derived from petroleum products. They do not
occur in nature, so we categorize them as manmade
dyes. “Organic” comes from the idea that they are still
derived from organic material, in this case, oil.

3. Which Dyes are Synthetic Organic?
Dyes are classified according to their solubility and chemical
properties. The major classes of dyes are: acid, basic, direct, reactive,
vat, disperse, azoic, sulphur, and mordant. Each dye class will dye
certain substrates. Some of the dyes will dye specific fibers and some
are purified to sell as FD&C dyes. These dyes color food,
pharmaceutical products, and cosmetics and are safe for
consumption and use on the body.

4. Acid Dyes
Acid dyes are water soluble,
anionic (with a negative charge),
and used to dye wool, silk, nylon,
and some modified acrylic fibers.
Think of your comfy wool
sweater.

6. Basic Dyes
Basic dyes are water soluble (with the
help of acetic acid) and are cationic
(with a positive charge). They dye paper,
acrylic fibers, and sometimes wool or
silk. Basic brown is often used to dye
paper bags. Modified basic dyes invented
by Dupont Chemical Company also fall
into this category. These dye Orlon
materials.

8. Direct Dyes
Direct dyes are substantive and can
be applied in water near boiling, in a
neutral environment, with the
addition of salt. Direct dyes are
used on cotton, paper, leather,
wool, silk, and nylon. Some of them
are indicators and biologic stains.
Perfect for your favorite cotton t-
shirt.

9. Reactive Dyes
Reactive dyes got their name by a
chromophore in the dye’s structure that
reacts with the fiber of the material.
Cotton is the most common fiber dyed
with reactive dyes, although the paper
industry also uses them. If you have a
pair of colored cotton socks in your
drawer, they are probably dyed with
reactive dyes.

10. Disperse Dyes
Disperse dyes are not soluble in water and
were developed to dye cellulose acetate. They
can also be used to dye polyester, nylon
cellulose triacetate, and acrylic fibers. There
are different procedures for dyeing the various
fibers for these dyes. They serve as another
example of Dupont inventing a new material
and not having a dye to color it. As a result,
they created high temperature disperse dyes
to dye the material. You’ll find most outdoor
furniture fabric dyed with disperse dyes,
because of its natural non-soluble properties.

11. Vat Dyes
This unusual class of dye is insoluble in
water and cannot directly dye any fiber.
Most often used for cotton, vat dyes
need a reduction, then an oxidation
reaction before dyeing the fiber. Their
color is very wash-fast and found in
toweling and sheeting products. The
premier vat dye, indigo, is now known as
the blue in blue jeans.

12. Azoic Dyes
Azoic dyes are a unique dye class since
they use a technique that produces a
dye on or in the fiber. By controlling the
diazoic and coupling components,
different shades can be produced. This
type of dyeing is not used as often
anymore because the chemicals used for
the process are toxic. Because of this,
you probably do not have anything at
home dyed with azoic dyes.

13. Sulphur Dyes
Sulphur dyes dye cotton in
darker shades. They can also be
used to dye leather. Leather in
your shoes may be dyed with a
sulphur dye.

14. Mordant Dyes
Mordant dyes are almost the
same as azoic dyes, but they pair
with a mordant to improve wash-
fastness and light-fastness. The
mordant is usually a heavy metal
compound. There are two
reasons to take caution when
choosing the dye. First, some
metals can destroy the dye
compound. Second, some heavy
chemicals are dangerous to the
environment.

15. Supply & Demand
The global textile dyes
market is projected to grow from USD 7.34
billion in 2017 to USD 9.82 billion by 2022, at a
CAGR of 6.00% between 2017 and 2022. The growing
demand for textile dyes for various fiber types, such as
cotton, polyester, and viscose, is expected to fuel the
growth of the textile dyes market. The cotton segment is
expected to be the fastest-growing fiber type segment of
the textile dyes market during the forecast period.
Properties such as durability and abrasive resistance of
textile dyes are the key drivers for the increase in demand
from this segment. These properties make the textiles
derived from cotton appropriate for mass-produced
clothing
products.

20. Questions?
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