The soapy lipid phase which is obtained contains more than 2% phytosterols. One way of recovering these sterols is via solvent (methanol) extraction directly from the soap, after which the phytosterols are purified by precipitation from the solvent. More commonly the tall oil soap is acidified to produce an oily phase which is a mixture of free rosin and fatty acids and neutral components, most importantly consisting of sterols, fatty alcohols, squalene, waxes and other esters. This mixture is referred to as crude tall oil.