The vast deployment of surfactants worldwide in various industries has an intense impact on the environment. This led to the quest for surfactants with high performance but less environmental footprint. Therefore, bio-based surfactants derived from renewable sources have evolved as greener alternatives to conventionally deployed surfactants. Amino acid-based surfactants (AAS) prove to be a promising class of biodegradable and biocompatible surfactants with better safety profiles that meet both physiological and ecological requirements. Nevertheless, they are yet to be deployed in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) application due to limited investigation into their EOR potential. Owing to the recent report on the satisfactory performance of sodium cocoyl alaninate in terms of its EOR potential, this current study investigates the EOR potential of N-lauroyl sarcosine (NLS) and lauroyl glutamic acid (LGA). The study encompasses their surface and aggregation behavior, interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration capability, emulsification, adsorption behaviour and oil displacement test. NLS proved to be more surface-active than LGA due to the additional carboxylate in the head group of LGA. Both surfactants showed high tolerance to salt and hardness, especially at high-temperature conditions. Furthermore, NLS showed superior IFT reduction capability with a minimum IFT of 0.07 mN/m while LGA only attained a minimum IFT of 0.14 mN/m. This results in better emulsifying power of NLS, yet LGA yielded more stable emulsions. In agreement to their high salt tolerance both surfactants exhibited improved performance in IFT reduction at high salinity condition. NLS and LGA also showed good wetting power on the quartz surface, hence altering rock surface wettability. Both surfactants achieved significant oil recovery after waterflooding, with NLS attaining additional oil recovery of 43% and LGA attaining 25%. The optimistic recoveries are due to the low waterflood recovery. NLS and LGA, therefore, prove to be superb alternatives to conventionally deployed EOR surfactants due to satisfactory performances coupled with their environmentally benign nature.

表面活性剂在全球各个行业的大量部署对环境产生了巨大的影响。这导致了对具有高性能但对环境影响较小的表面活性剂的追求。因此，源自可再生资源的生物基表面活性剂已发展成为传统表面活性剂的更环保替代品。基于氨基酸的表面活性剂 (AAS) 被证明是一类有前途的可生物降解和生物相容的表面活性剂，具有更好的安全性，同时满足生理和生态要求。然而，由于对其 EOR 潜力的研究有限，它们尚未用于提高石油采收率 (EOR) 应用。由于最近关于椰油酰丙氨酸钠在其 EOR 潜力方面表现令人满意的报告，目前的这项研究调查了 N-月桂酰肌氨酸 (NLS) 和月桂酰谷氨酸 (LGA) 的 EOR 潜力。该研究包括它们的表面和聚集行为、界面张力降低和润湿性改变能力、乳化、吸附行为和驱油测试。NLS 被证明比 LGA 具有更高的表面活性，因为 LGA 的头基中存在额外的羧酸盐。两种表面活性剂都表现出对盐和硬度的高耐受性，尤其是在高温条件下。此外，NLS 显示出优异的 IFT 降低能力，最小 IFT 为 0.07 mN/m，而 LGA 仅达到 0.14 mN/m 的最小 IFT。这导致 NLS 的乳化能力更好，而 LGA 产生更稳定的乳液。与它们的高耐盐性一致，两种表面活性剂在高盐度条件下都表现出改善的 IFT 降低性能。NLS 和 LGA 在石英表面也表现出良好的润湿能力，从而改变了岩石表面的润湿性。两种表面活性剂在注水后均实现了显着的采收率，其中 NLS 的额外采收率达到 43%，LGA 达到 25%。乐观的采收率是由于低注水采收率。因此，NLS 和 LGA 被证明是传统部署的 EOR 表面活性剂的绝佳替代品，因为它们具有令人满意的性能以及它们对环境无害的性质。NLS 获得 43% 的额外采油率，LGA 获得 25% 的额外采收率。乐观的采收率是由于低注水采收率。因此，NLS 和 LGA 被证明是传统部署的 EOR 表面活性剂的绝佳替代品，因为它们具有令人满意的性能以及它们对环境无害的性质。NLS 获得 43% 的额外采油率，LGA 获得 25% 的额外采收率。乐观的采收率是由于低注水采收率。因此，NLS 和 LGA 被证明是传统部署的 EOR 表面活性剂的绝佳替代品，因为它们具有令人满意的性能以及它们对环境无害的性质。