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.