Surfactant is used in large amount for oil recovery process. Injected into earth along with water, the surfactant releases oil, trapped on the cave walls during drilling, just like soap when we wash our oily hand.
The methyl-ester-sulfonation from palm oil using gas reactant (SO3, H2SO4 or NaHSO3) produces MES surfactant. Surfactant is available in abundance since it comes from renewable resources.