A method for recovering water soluble surfactants

Disclosed is a method for recovering and re-employing ionic surfactants from aqueous solutions and dispersions/emulsions of water and liquid hydrocarbons by the addition of a second polar phase as well as an inorganic salt which causes the preferred partitioning of the surfactant by providing a preferred ionic strength phase for the surfactant. More specifically, the method applies to recovering hydrate growth inhibitor/modifying compounds, comprising cationic surfactant, such as, for example, ammonium, phosphonium, and sulphonium alkylated compounds, which have been added to a fluid effluent of a hydrocarbon production well, the effluent including water, hydrate inhibitor compound, at least one additional polar solvent, and inorganic salt, by a method comprising adding sufficient additional ions of inorganic salt and, if necessary, an alcohol/glycol to the effluent to form a second polar phase, less polar than the aqueous phase, into which the hydrate inhibitor can then dissolve and be separated from the brine.