Treatment of tall oil

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF RECOVERING UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER OF TALL OIL, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES SELECTIVELY ESTERIFYING THE FREE FATTY ACIDS IN TALL OIL WITH A LOWER ALCOHOL, EXTRACTING THE RESULTANT MIXTURE OF ESTERIFIED FATTY ACIDS, ROSIN ACIDS AND UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER WITH A SELECTIVE POLAR SOLVENT TO OBTAIN AN EXTRACT OF ROSIN ACIDS AND A RAFFINATE CONTAINING MOST OF THE ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS AND MOST OF THE UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER OF THE TALL OIL AND A MINOR AMOUNT OF ROSIN ACIDS, THEN DISTILLING THE RAFFINATE TO OBTAIN THE ESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS IN PURIFIED FROM AND TO OBTAIN A PITCH-LIKE STILL RESIDUE OF RESIDUAL ESTERS OF FATY ACIDS, ROSIN ACIDS AND A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER, SAPONIFYING SAID ACIDS AND ESTERS WITH AN AQUEOUS ALCOHOL SOLUTION OF AN ALKALINE COMPOUND OF AN ALKALI METAL TO OBTAIN SOLUTIONS OF SOAPS OF TALL OIL AND UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER IN WATER AND ALCOHOL, EXTRACTING WITH THE UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER FROM SAID SOLUTION WHICH A SOLVENT THEREFOR WHICH IS IMMISCIBLE IN WATER AND ALCOHOL, ELIMINATING THE SOLVENT FROM THE UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER AND CRYSTALLIZING OUT THE STEROLS IN THE UNSAPONIFIABLE MATTER IN A MONOHYDRIC ALCOHOL CONTAINING 1 TO 3 CARBON ATOMS IN A STRAIGHT CHAIN HYDROCARBON NUCLEUS.