Use of Kraft Lignin from Date Palm as Green Surfactant for Enhanced Oil Recovery

In this work, Kraft lignin (KL) formed from biomass of date palm frond biomass (DPFB) was explored as a sustainable and natural surfactant for its application in chemical flooding oil-enhanced oil recovery. Objective: the research seeks to assess KL concentrations that influence oil-displacing effectiveness and additional oil recovery from ranges of sandpack samples. FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the KL chemical composition. The quantities measured are oil recovery factor (RF), total volume of displaced oil (DO2), and the difference between recovery with NaOH and NaOH + KL (RF2–RF1). The experimental method is to prepare aqueous solutions of different NaOH concentrations and KL ratios and inject them into sandpacks at different flooding stages, including primary, secondary, and tertiary flooding stages. The outcomes show that KL ratio up to 0.2 and 1.0 wt %. This leads to a substantial enhancement in oil recovery, where the complete entirety of oils, RF2 increases from 68.85 to 76.78%. Furthermore, the presence of KL facilitated an additional oil recovery (RF2–RF1) of 16.97 to 23.78% on top of that achieved by conventional means. These results indicate the feasibility of using lignin-based surfactants as sustainable and low-cost alternatives in enhanced oil recovery.