a method for obtaining neutral compounds from black - liquor soaps , tall oil and tall oil by - products is disclosed . the method includes the steps of : dehydrating black liquor soaps , neutralized tall oil , or neutralized tall oil by - products to form a dehydrated current ; distilling the dehydrated current in a distillation column ; collecting an essentially soap free distillate ; and collecting an essentially neutral compound free residue . also disclosed is a method for obtaining a sterol concentrate from black - liquor soap solutions , neutralized tall oil , or neutralized tall oil by - products . in this method , a distillation operation is repeated until a current of sterols with the desired purity is obtained . the method yields a sterol concentrate with a level of purity over 96 %. in another version of the method , a high purity sterol cocentrate is achieved by vacuum fractionation