[For
teaching purposes only; do not review, quote or abstract] <Economic Plants Index> <Main Menu>
[ This Section may require several minutes to download]
Please CLICK on Underlined
Categories to view:
[ to search for Subject
Matter, depress Ctrl/F ]:
Tanning Industry Sources of
Tanning Substances Hemlock (tanning)
Oak (tanning) Mangrove (tanning) Wattle (tanning)
Chestnut
Wood (tanning) Quebracho Wood (tanning) American Sumac Leaves (tanning) Sicilian
Sumac Leaves (tanning)
Gambier
Leaves (tanning) Myrobalan Fruit (tanning) Divi-Divi
Fruit (tanning) Tara Fruit (tanning) Algarobilla Fruit (tanning)
Valonia
Acorn Cups (tanning) Canaigre Roots (tanning) Palmetto
Roots (tanning) Ink Manufacture Carbon Inks Tannin Inks
Colored Inks Dyes & Pigments Wood Dyes Logwood (dyes) Fustic (dyes) Cutch Osage Orange Sappanwood Brazilwood
Barwood Camwood Red Sanderswood Red Sandalwood Leaf Dyes Indigo Chlorophyll Henna Woad Weld Root/Tuber Dyes
Madder Alkanna Turmeric Bark Dyes Quercitron Lokao Flavin Chinese Green Flower Dyes Safflower Saffron
Fruit Dyes Persian Berries Sap Green Dyes from Seeds Annatto Urucú Gum Resin Gamboge Dyes from Lichens
Dyes Dyes & Pigments Metal
Polish Stain/Rust
Removers Tanning
========================================================================================
|
Tannins
are organic compounds, mostly glucosidal, which have an acid reaction and are
very astringent. Their biological
function is in doubt. They may be
concerned with the formation of cork or pigments, or with the protection of
the plant. Tannins are of economic
interest because of their ability to unite with certain types of proteins,
such as those in animal skins, to form a strong, flexible, resistant
insoluble substance known as leather.
Because of this characteristic, tannin-containing materials are in
great demand. Tannins also react with
salts of iron to form dark-blue or greenish-black compounds, the basis of
common inks. Their astringent nature
makes them useful in medicine.
Tanning materials are also utilized in oil drilling to reduce the viscosity
of the drill without reducing the specific gravity. Most plants contain some tannin, but only a few species
have a sufficient quantity to be of commercial importance. Tannins are found in the cell sap or in
other definite areas in bark, wood, leaves, roots, fruits and galls. Such structures are of little value for
other purposes, so that the extraction of tannin is usually incidental to
other industries. Hill (1952) described the tanning industry
as very old, possibly dating to 3,000 B.C.
Leather was being tanned in China before 1,000 B.C. The Romans used oak bark for tanning
animal hides and the Amerindians used several native plants to cure the hides
of buffalo. In the United States the
first tannery was established in Virginia in 1630. Scarcely 20 years after there were more than 50 tanneries in
New England. The industry centered
around the latter because of the abundant hemlock bark available there. Thereafter the industry gradually shifted
to the west and south when hemlock supplies became scarce. Oak then became the principal tanning
substance. Later on chestnut was used
in the South. When these became
scarce other sources, such as sumac and canaigre, were utilized and some foreign
products were imported. Today
concentrated extracts with high tannin content are generally utilized. Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, had been the
main domestic source of tannin in the United States from the beginning of the
industry. The pressure on the forests
was so great as to practically eliminate the species. Hemlock bark has 8-14 percent tannin. It was used for sheepskins and for sole
and other leathers, either by itself or in combination with oak. Later extracts with 28-30 percent tanning
became available. Some attention was
also given to the Western Hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla. Several species of American oaks used for tanning. The Chestnut Oak, Quercus montana, is
abundant in Appalachia. It has tannin
content of 6-11 percent. The extract
with 26-30 percent tannin is widely used for heavy leathers. The Black Oak, Quercus velutina,
produces quercitron extract. Although
widely used it does stain the leather with a yellowish color. The California Tanbark Oak, Lithocarpus
densiflora, was utilized since 1850.
It has tannin content of as high as 29 percent. Red Oak, Quercus borealis, and White Oak,
Q. alba, are used to some extent but they have lower amounts of tannin. European oaks are used in England and on
continental Europe. Mangrove is a good source of tannin and gradually
became more important as other sources diminished. The Red Mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, has been the main
source. It is abundant in tropical
swamps of both hemispheres. The bark
is very hard and heavy and contains 22-33 percent tannin. The leaves may also be used and the
extract has been the least expensive of tanning substances. However, it causes the leather to darken
and is therefore rarely used alone. This source is used mainly in Great Britain. It is obtained from several species of
acacia, mainly Acacia decurrens and its varieties dealbata and mollis,
and Acacia pycnantha. These
are small trees native to Australia but have become cultivated in Africa,
Ceylon, Brazil and other countries.
The bark may have tannin content of 40-50 percent. It is removed from trees that are 5-15
years old. It is then ground to a
powder. Wattle bark produces a solid,
very firm, and faintly pink leather, which is especially used for soles. Wattle wood is a good pulpwood and can be
used for timbers, posts and other things.
There is also a gum produced by the trees. Other
Bark Sources Other barks that are occasionally used for tanning are
the European larch, Larix decidua, Norway Spruce, Picea abies
and some birches and willows. Birch
bark is favored in Russia and the fragrance of Russian leather is due to the
presence of an essential oil in the bark.
Willow bark gives light-colored, soft pliable leather favored for
tanning gloves. Some tropical barks
are of minor importance. Mallet bark
is obtained from Eucalyptus occidentalis of Western Australia, with
tannin content of 35-50 percent.
Avaram bark is from Cassia auriculata, important in India. Tanekaha bark from Phyllocladus trichomanoides,
a New Zealand tree is used for gloves because it contains an orange-yellow
dye. Castanea dentata and Castanea sativa
contain tannin that is extracted at high temperatures from wood chips. The final product is 30-40 percent
tannin. Chestnut is used for heavy
leathers. This wood of several South American trees is a very
important source of tannin. Schinopsis
lorentzii and S. balansae are the main species. The wood from these trees is some of the
very hardest known with a specific gravity of 1.3-1.4. Argentina and Paraguay are the main
producers. Extracts are made in
factories located near the sources. The
logs are chipped and cooked with steam in copper extractors until the liquor
is very concentrated. This has tannin
content of 40-60 percent. It is very
quick in its tanning action and is used either by itself or in combination
for all kinds of leather, especially sole leather because it imparts extra
durable qualities. The dried leaves of three North American species of
sumac, Rhus glabra, R. typhina and R. copallina, are
important tannin sources. Leaves are
harvested in autumn when they begin to turn red, and are dried and ground to
a powder. The tannin content of 10-25
percent is higher in plants that grow at lower latitudes. Rhus coriaria has a content of 20-35
percent The leather becomes a pale
color and is soft in texture. It is
especially suited for gloves and bookbinding. This is one of the few tanning plants that are cultivated. Gambier or White Cutch is a resinous substance that is
extracted from the leaves and young branches of Uncaria gambir. It is a climbing shrub of Malaya and
Indonesia. The plants become shrubby
when cultivated. The trees are
cropped four times a year and the tannin is extracted from the tissues with
boiling water. It crystallizes out as
a semisolid white substance and has tannin content of 35-40 percent. Gambier is also used as a dye, masticatory
and in medicine. Myrobalan nuts are the unripe fruits of two trees of
India, Terminalia chebula and T. bellerica. These trees are grown in India for both
fruit and timber. The nuts have
tannin content of 30-40 percent. When
they are used by alone they yield spongy, light yellow leather, but in
combination they are preferred. They
are used to tan leather of goats, calves, and sheep and are best suited for
soles and harnesses. The tannin is obtained from the dried twisted seedpods
of a small leguminous tree, Caesalpinia coriaria, of the West Indies
and South America. The tannin content
is 40-50 percent. A stocky shrub or small tree Tara, Caesalpinia
spinosa is widely distributed in tropical America. The fruits are 43-51 percent tannin. The plant is cultivated in Peru and North Africa. It is used for producing a high grade of
leather as it changes the color only slightly. The fruits are also used for ink and black dye. Caesalpinia brevifolia from Chile has pods with
high tannin content. It is usually
used in combination with other materials. The sun-dried cups of Turkish oak acorns, Quercus
macrolepis, have tannin content of 45 percent. It is used in combination with other materials for fine grades
of leather. Rumex hymenosepalus is a species native to the
southern United States and Mexico. It
is widely cultivated. The roots are
sliced and the tannin extracted. The
tannin content is about 30 percent and yields a bright orange firm and heavy
leather. Sabal palmetto has been used somewhat as a
source of tannin, but the content is only 10 percent. Writing inks date back to ancient times. In Egypt ink was used on papyrus before
2,500 B.C. and the oldest writings in China are dated to at least 2,600
B.C. Originally carbon ink was used,
which is a combination of gums, charcoal and varnish. The charcoal was secured from plant
sources such as charred date seeds or it was of animal origin. The two most important modern inks are Carbon Inks and
Tannin Inks. These are paint like inks that
remain on the surface of paper while the others are dyelike and soak into the
paper where they combine chemically with the fibers. India or Chinese Ink is very permanent ink
that is made from the carbon black, lampblack, or soot obtained by burning
pinewood or a vegetable oil such as tung or sesame, mixed with glue, gum
arabic, or some similar sizing material.
Printing Ink contains carbon obtained from natural gas, petroleum, or
other materials, combined with rosin, a drying oil such as linseed, some
chemical drier and often soap. These utilize the property of tannin that combines with
iron salts to produce a blue-black color.
Most are gallotannate in nature, the tannin being derived from insect
galls that also contain gallic acid.
Tannin inks were first used in the 11th Century. Aleppo or nutgalls have been the main
source of the tannin. These galls are
formed on the twigs of the Aleppo oak, Quercus infectoria, as a
response to the injuries caused by egg laying insects. The plant is a small shrub that ranges
throughout the Mediterranean region.
The small spherical or pear-shaped galls form in great quantity and
have very high tannin content. To
make the ink either the galls or an extract of them are combined with ferrous
sulfate, an agglutinant like gum arabic, and a coloring material, like
logwood. Rhus chinensis and
other species of sumac from China and Japan are at times used to substitute
the Aleppo galls, although they are not of as good a quality. Oak galls are sometimes used and tannin
inks may also be made from other sources of tannin such as logwood and
chestnut. Logwood has the advantage
of containing both tannin and a coloring agent. These are made from natural or aniline dyes in
combination with water, gum and alum.
A high quality red ink is derived from brazilwood.
Natural dyestuffs and stains, obtained from the roots, bark, leaves,
fruit or wood of plants, have been in use worldwide from earliest time. The cultivation of the plants and the
preparation of the dyes have been an important industry in many areas. Around the mid 1800’s the natural products
began to be supplanted by synthetic or aniline dyes obtained from coal-tar
products. These synthetic dyes are
brighter, more permanent, easier to use, are less costly and afford a wider
range of colors. Their development
has gradually led to the abandonment of most of the plant products. There are over 2000 different
pigments secreted by plants. Most of
these are used only locally by primitive cultures, if at all. A comparatively small number, about 155,
have been of commercial importance, and of these only a few have been able to
compete with the artificial colors.
The principal use of dyes has been in the textile industry. However, before the fabrics can
incorporate them, they must be rendered insoluble so that they will not
run. This is accomplished by the use
of mordants, which are various metal salts.
When fabrics are steeped in a solution containing a weak salt of iron,
chromium, aluminum, or tin, a fine layer of the metallic oxide is deposited
on the cloth. The dye forms an
insoluble compound with this oxide.
Dyes are also used for coloring paints, varnishes, leather, ink,
paper, wood, furs, food, cosmetics and medicines.
Many different kinds of dyes have been in use in the United States
alone at various times. The
Amerindians made use of many native species and the early settlers followed
their example. In the past dyes that
have been important include butternut bark, which was used for dyeing
homespun, and later for dyeing the uniforms of the Confederate army. As in other parts of the world plant
pigments have been generally supplanted by aniline dyes. For a while after 1914 when the First
World War reduced the supply of synthetic colors, 90 percent of which were
made in Germany, the United States returned to the use of the natural
products. However, soon a domestic
synthetic dye industry arose which by 1930 was producing products valued at
US$83,000.000. Almost all colors were available that
occurred in plant pigments. Red dyes
were obtained from alkanna, barwood, brazilwood, cudbear, logwood, safflower,
sappanwood and sandalwood. Yellow
dyes were from annatto, fustic, gamboge, henna, osage orange, Persian
berries, quercitron, saffron, tumeric and weld. Blues were from cudbear, indigo, and woad. Greens were from chlorophyll and loka9o;
and brown was from cutch. This is one of the oldest and most
important dyes. It is obtained from
the heartwood of Haematoxylon campechianum, a small, thorny tree
legume of Mexico. It has been
introduced throughout the world tropics.
The trees are propagated from seed when cultivated. They are cut when 10-12 years old and the
bark and sapwood removed. Both the
logs and/or the extracts are exported.
The purple-red dye is known as haematoxylin and is used in its natural
state or with a mordant. The presence
of a large amount of tannin allows logwood extract to react with iron salts
to produce a black color. This is
used especially for dyeing cotton and woolen fabrics, leather, silk and
furs. Haematoxylin stain is widely
used in histological work. A related
species, braziletttte or hypernie (H. brasiletto) gives a red dye that
is used for dyeing leather. This is the main source of natural
yellows, olives and browns and ranks with logwood in importance. It is used for leather and in combination
with logwood for silk, wool, nylon and rayon. It comes from the heartwood of Chlorophora tinctoria, a
forest tree of the West Indies, Central and South America. The light-yellow wood turns a dark
yellow-brown when exposed to air.
Faustic is exported as short logs, chips, powder or paste. The dye is frequently called Old Fustic to
distinguish it from Young Fustic, once obtained from the twigs of Cotinus
coggygria. The term Cutch refers to several
kinds of raw materials that are useful in making dyes and in tanning. Gambier or white cutch was discussed
above. Black cutch or catechu is the
source of an important brown dye. It
is from the heartwood of Acacia catechu, a tree native to Burma and
India. Wood pieces are boiled in
water and the extract is evaporated to a purple-black, gummy, semisolid mass
that is then molded into blocks. This
is a fast dye and is used for the different shades of fawn, brown, olive and
drab colors, including khaki. Catechu
is also used in medicine and as a masticatory. Maclura pomifera is a tree
native to southern Missouri and Texas.
It is frequently planted as an ornamental. The bright orange wood yields a dye that is used for
orange-yellows and gold and as a base for green colors. Amerindians used Osage Orange and it is a
substitute for fustic and aniline dyes. These are soluble red wood dyes
that have had an interesting history.
One of the first red dyewoods known was from the heartwood of Caesalpinia
sappan, or sappanwood. The tree
is indigenous in Malaya and India and cultivated elsewhere in Asia. The wood was introduced into Europe during
the Middle Ages when it was called Bresel Wood. Then the Portuguese discovered a similar wood in South America
to which they applied the name Bresel.
The source of this Western Hemispheric Brazilwood is Caesalpinia
echinata, and it ranges generally in the American tropics. The heartwood has a red dye that is used
for woolen and cotton cloth and for red ink.
The wood is also valuable for making violin bows. The bark and pods also serves as a source
of the dye. Sappanwood has the same
uses as Brazilwood, and in both the color is fugitive. These are obtained from several
West African trees. Baphia nitida
and a related species are usually the source of Camwood. Barwood is obtained from Pterocarpus
erinaceus and P. soyauxii.
They both yield shades of red, brown, and violet and are used mainly
for dyeing wool. Red Sanderswood (Red Sandalwood) Pterocarpus santalinus is
an East Indian tree with hard, fragrant, reddish wood that is the source of
an insoluble blood-red dye. Indigo or Anil was known as the
“King of the Dyes,” due to the permanency and strength of its deep-blue
color. Synthetics have largely
replaced it today, however. It is
obtained from Indigofera tinctoria of Asia and Indigofera
suffruticosa of tropical America, as well as several other species of the
same genus. These are stiff-stemmed,
weedy annuals or shrubby perennials.
The dye is not present in the plant itself. The leaves contain a soluble colorless glucoside, indican,
which oxidizes in water to form the insoluble indigo. Fresh plants are gathered in the flowering
season, are broken up and steeped in water for 12 or more hours. The liquid is constantly stirred to bring
about complete oxidation, and the indigo gradually settles out as a blue
sediment that is packaged as small cubes for export. Indigo was used as a dye in India and
other parts of Asia in ancient times.
It was introduced into Europe in the 16th Century and from there it
spread worldwide. Being present in all green plants,
chlorophyll is especially typical of the leaves of the higher plants from
which it can be extracted with different solvents. Chlorophyll is important as a coloring substance for foods, soap
and other products. It is especially
valuable by being harmless and serving as a deodorant. The leaves and young shoots of Lawsonia
inermis provide an orange dye. It
is a small tree 6-8 ft. tall and native to India, Iran and the Arabian
Peninsula. The plant is widely
cultivated in the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental and dye plant. Branches are cut when the tree is only
three years old and from then on twice annually. The leaves are dried and ground to a paste. Henna is a fast dye that was once used
mainly for leather and fabrics. It
also serves for dyeing eyebrows, fingernails, hair and other personal
adornment. Isatis
tinctoria is a blue dye that was used in Europe in early times. It was used by the primitive Britons to
paint their bodies (Hill 1952). The
leaves are moistened, slightly fermented, molded into balls and dried. This is a deep
yellow European dye that has been widely used for silks. It is extracted from the leaves of the
weld, Reseda luteola, that was formerly cultivated in Europe. The American colonists brought the plant
to America where it still persists in several localities. Once widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region,
Madder is still grown in the Levant and in Italy. The dye is found in the roots of Rubia tinctorum, which
occurs as a wild plant in Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Greece. An infusion is made from 3-4-year old
roots to produce a brilliant scarlet color known as “turkey red.” The coloring agent is a glucosice,
alizarin, which was one of the first synthetically produced dyes. Alkanna tinctoria roots yield a red, violet or
crimson dye that is used for coloring pomades, medicines, oils and wines and
as a histological stain. An important coloring material in India, turmeric is
obtained from the tubers of Curcuma longa. The color is orange-red or reddish brown. It is used to give a yellow color to cloth
and foods, such as curries. Turmeric
also is a chemical indicator as it changes color in the presences of acids or
alkalis. The crushed bark of black oak, Quercus velutina,
of eastern North America yields a bright yellow dye called quercitron. It is used to dye cotton, leather and
wool. It is also a tanning substance. Flavin is a
strong preparation of quercitron. Often called Chinese Green,
this is one of the few natural green coloring substances. It is the powdered bark of two Chinese
buckthorns, Rhamnus globosa and R. utilis. It use is in dyeing cotton and silks. Carthamus tinctorius is a dye plant native to
India. The flowers are used to color
food and the seeds furnish an edible oil that is low in cholesterol. The leaves are also used in salads. The yellow or orange thistle like heads
are picked in dry weather dried and pressed into cakes. An extracted red dye is used for fabrics
and rouge and a yellow dye is for various purposes. Crocus sativus is the source of an old and
strong yellow dye. Native from Asia
Minor to Greece it is cultivated in many parts of Europe and Asia. The lavender colored flowers blossom in
autumn. The stigmas and tips of the
styles contain the dye. These are
clipped as soon as the flowers open and are dried naturally or by heating. At least 4,000 flowers are required to
make one ounce of dye. The coloring
substance is soluble in water so it may not be used for fabrics. However, it is useful for coloring
medicines and food to which it also imparts a typical flavor. A buckthorn, Rhamnus infectoria, of Southern
Europe, Asia Minor and Iran, has fruits called Persian Berries. An extract yields yellow and green dyes. Rhamnus cathartica of Europe is also the source
of Sap Green. It is a watercolor
pigment obtained from the fruit. It
also has medicinal properties. Seeds of Bixa orellana are the source of this
dye. The plant is an evergreen shrub
or small tree native to tropical America.
Fruit is borne in the second year and the yield averages 300-600 lbs.
per tree. Each spiny pod contains
30-50 seeds surrounded by a scarlet aril, the source of a bright yellow
dye. Annatto is almost tasteless so
that it is adapted for coloring cheese, butter, margarine and other
foods. It is also sued to dye wool
and calico, paint, varnish, lacquer and soap. In South America Amerindians paint their bodies red with Urucú, which is the same dye. The gamboge tree, Garcinia hanburyi, and a few
other species, from Thailand exudes a gum resin that furnishes a yellow
dye. Incisions are made in the bark
that yields a yellow viscid fluid, which dries on exposure to air. The yellow dye is soluble in water, alcohol
or oil and is widely used by artists.
It also gives a gold tinge to varnishes that are used for lacquer and
metalwork. Gamboge is a violent
cathartic. Several purple or blue dyes are known by various names
such as Archil, Orchil, Orseille or Cudbear.
They are obtained from different species of lichens, mainly Roccella
tinctoria. These were used for
wool and silks and for staining wood and coloring wine, but now they are used
mainly for drugs in sauces and bitters.
Treating macerated lichens with ammonia and exposing them to air make
the dye. A blue archil liquor is then
extracted with water. When heated to
drive off the ammonia it changes to red archil. This is evaporated and ground to a fine power or paste known as
cudbear. Litmus is made from the same
lichens by a different process. The
lichens are treated with an alkali and allowed to ferment for a few
days. Lime is added and the dye
extracted with water. The liquid is
evaporated and mixed with chalk or powdered gypsum or applied to paper. Litmus is used as a chemical indicator for
acids and alkalis because its natural purple color is change to red by acids
and to blue by alkalis. =================================================================== |