Provided are methods and systems for treating a soapstock. Provided are systems and methods for treating a soapstock to generate free fatty acids and/or fatty acid derivatives, and for realizing the full fatty acid yield of a soapstock by first converting substantially all of the saponifiable material in a soapstock to fatty acids and acidulating the soaps to generate free fatty acids and/or fatty acid derivatives, wherein the soapstock comprises soaps and saponifiable lipids, and the generating of free fatty acids is achieved. Provided are systems and methods for realizing the full fatty acid yield of a soapstock by first converting substantially all of the saponifiable material in a soapstock to salts of fatty acids and acidulating the soaps to generate free fatty acids and/or fatty acid derivatives, wherein the soapstock comprises soaps and saponifiable lipids, and the generating of free fatty acids is achieved.