The components of surfactant-laden fluids, such as those used in hydrocarbon recovery operations such as for stimulation, e.g. hydraulic fracturing, may be re-used and re-cycled into components for subsequent use in a wide range of similar or different operational fluids. In particular, aqueous fluids gelled with viscoelastic surfactants and having components therein to pseudo-crosslink the elongated VES micelles and for internal breaking may be separated into its component parts by relatively inexpensive methods such as filtration. One filtration method includes contacting the surfactant-containing fluid with a particle pack having particulate additives therein which filter out or extract fine solids from the fluid. In an alternate embodiment the surfactant-laden fluid is a nano- and/or micro-emulsion wellbore cleanup fluid.