Natural gas and petroleum hydrocarbons are important energy sources, and hydrocarbons are extracted from oil reservoirs using recovery technology. Primary and secondary recovery procedures recover just a small portion of the oil in place, emphasizing the importance of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approaches. Surfactant flooding, for example, is an EOR technique that aims to change oil-rock characteristics and boost output. However, questions have been raised about the environmental impact of chemical surfactants. The purpose of this research is to look at the possibilities of bio-based surfactants, namely soybean lecithin, as an alternative to chemically manufactured surfactants for EOR applications.

Biosurfactants have several benefits, including biodegradability, low toxicity, excellent selectivity, and compatibility with severe environments. They are made up of amphiphilic molecules with hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments that improve oil mobility, lower surface tension, and expand the contact area for oil displacement. Lecithin, obtained from soybean oil, is used as a feedstock in the manufacturing of bio-based surfactants. Soy lecithin, which is mostly made up of phospholipids, triglycerides, and other minor components, has amphiphilic qualities that make it excellent for surfactant applications.

The potential of soybean lecithin as a bio-based surfactant for EOR is investigated in this work. Experiments were carried out to compare its performance to that of regularly used surfactant classes, such as cationic, anionic, nonionic, and amphoteric surfactants. Each surfactant's solubilization ratio were established under optimal circumstances, allowing for a full performance study.