Mass-transfer rates to and from drops in liquid-liquid extraction processes are often reduced by the presence of contaminants. To design an industrial extractor, it is essential to consider this contamination effect in a quantitative manner. To achieve this goal, an experimental investigation was conducted on the mass transfer into single drops for n-butanol-succinic acidwater, as the recommended test system by the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE). The effects of anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS), cationic (dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, DTMAC), and nonionic (octylphenol decaethylene glycol ether, Triton X-100) surfactants on the hydrodynamic and mass-transfer parameters such as mean drop size, average velocity, and the overall mass-transfer coefficient were thoroughly investigated. On the basis of experimental results, a model for surfactant effect on the mass-transfer coefficient in a system with unknown type and amount of contaminant was presented. This model is especially applicable in industrial processes in which contaminants have unknown sources and types.