Patent ID: 6846941

Claim:
A process for separating a valuable product from a raw material comprising: providing a raw material comprising one or more unsaponifiable compounds and one or more saponifiable compounds, wherein the one or more saponifiable compounds comprises one or more compounds in free acid and/or soap form; reacting the raw material with a sodium or potassium base to saponify free acid saponifiable compounds thereby forming a mixture comprising saponified compounds and unsaponifiable compounds reacting the saponifiable component comprising one or more compounds in free acid and/or soap form with a metal soap-forming compound to make a first product comprising metal soaps and one or more unsaponifiable compounds; and subjecting the mixture of metal soaps and one or more unsaponifiable compounds to a distillation to form a distillate comprising at least a portion of the unsaponifiable compounds and a residue comprising the metal soaps, wherein the distillate and/or the residue comprises a valuable product.