Crude Tall Oil (CTO) is obtained from the wood pulping industry. Tall (from the Swedish word for pine) oil soap is collected from paper mills and then acidulated to make crude tall oil which is a mixture of fatty acids, rosin acids and other neutral materials.

CTO is a renewable material with great potential, high added value and extremely low carbon emissions. CTO can be further refined by fractionation, which separates it into tall oil fatty acids, tall oil rosins, distilled tall oil, pitch and heads.

CTO derivatives can be used in several sectors, such as animal feed and asphalt recycling, as well as for paints, lubricants, glues and road marking agents. CTO is not yet a widespread practice and could be further explored in the EU.