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The invention is a method of producing oil soluble surfactants from lignin which comprises reacting an alkylphenol having an alkyl chain of about 5 to about 20 carbon atoms with formaldehyde at elevated temperature to produce an intermediate product and reacting the intermediate product at an elevat

The invention is a method of producing oil soluble surfactants from lignin which comprises reacting an alkylphenol having an alkyl chain of about 5 to about 20 carbon atoms with formaldehyde at elevated temperature to produce an intermediate product and reacting the intermediate product at an elevated temperature with a lignin phenol sulfonate to produce an oil soluble lignin surfactant, said lignin phenol sulfonate produced by placing lignin in contact with water, converting the lignin into low molecular weight lignin phenol by reducing the lignin in the presence of a reducing agent of carbon monoxide or hydrogen which creates a reduction reaction mixture comprising oil soluble lignin phenol, said reduction occurring at a temperature greater than about 200°C. and a pressure greater than about 100 psi, recovering the oil soluble lignin phenol from the reduction mixture and sulfonating the lignin phenol to produce lignin phenol sulfonate.

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A method of recovering hydrocarbons from an underground formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well, which comprises: injecting into an underground formation through an injection well about 0.1 to about 0.6 pore volumes of an aqueous surfactant slug comprisin

A method of recovering hydrocarbons from an underground formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well, which comprises: injecting into an underground formation through an injection well about 0.1 to about 0.6 pore volumes of an aqueous surfactant slug comprising about 0.1% to about 10% by weight of an oil soluble lignin surfactant, said oil soluble lignin surfactant produced by reacting an alkylphenol having an alkyl chain of about 5 to about 20 carbon atoms with formaldehyde at elevated temperature to produce an intermediate product; reacting the intermediate product at elevated temperature with a lignin phenol sulfonate, said lignin phenol sulfonate produced by placing lignin in contact with water, converting the lignin into low molecular weight lignin phenol by reducing the lignin in the presence of a reducing agent of carbon monoxide or hydrogen which creates a reduction reaction mixture comprising oil soluble lignin phenol, said reduction occurring at a temperature greater than about 200°C. and a pressure greater than about 100 psig, recovering the oil soluble lignin phenol from the reduction mixture, and sulfonating the lignin phenol to produce lignin phenol sulfonates; injecting into the formation through the injection well a drive fluid to push the surfactant slug towards the production well; and recovering hydrocarbons at the production well.