In this research, a structural modification for a cellulose/polyester blend has been carried out using NH4OH, (NH4)2C2O4 and liquid NH3 which are environmentally friendly alternative scouring agents with NaOH as control. The scouring process was carried out on the samples with these alternative agents. Investigation into structural modification of cellulose/polyester blend fabric using NH4OH, (NH4)2C2O4 and liquid NH3 and its structural characterization with X-ray diffraction was carried. The results showed the inferences variation in the crystallinity index of scoured samples from (3.21-65.30%), the crystallite size of scoured samples (1.9-15 nm) in the crystalline region and (7-20 nm) in the amorphous region, inter-planar spacing of the scoured samples (0.340-0.350 nm) of the crystalline region and (0.350-0.340 nm) of the amorphous region and number of crystalline planes of the scoured samples is (3-11) of the cellulose/polyester blend fabric samples via X-ray diffraction studies. Among these alternative agents (NH4)2C2O4 and NH4OH showed better interaction with both amorphous and crystalline regions of the cellulose/polyester blend fabric samples without loss in crystallinity when used as scouring agents, and the possibilities of being a superior alternative with significant effect on the structures of the cellulose/polyester blend, while the other samples showed possibilities of being highly competitive with the conventional agent.

This study investigated the effect of organic alternative scouring agents on structure of cotton/polyester blend fabric. A structural modification for a cellulose/polyester blend has been carried out using (COOH)2, CH3COOH and CH3CH2OH alternative scouring agents and NaOH was used as control. The scoured fabrics were then subjected to structural analysis using X-ray diffraction in order to expose the possible modifications on the pretreated fabrics. The samples showed possibilities of being highly competitive with the conventional agent. These inferences were drawn from the difference in the crystallinity index of scoured samples (10.10-60.03%), the crystallite size of scoured samples (6-9 nm) in the crystalline region (6-11 nm), in the amorphous region, inter-planar spacing of the scoured samples (0.340-0.350 nm) of the crystalline region and (0.360-0.390 nm) of the amorphous region of sample and number of crystalline planes of the scoured sample is (3-10) of the cellulose/polyester blend fabric samples via X-ray diffraction studies. Keywords; Cellulose, Fabric, Organic, Polyester, Scouring Agents