the present invention is directed to a method for making l - lactide from aqueous l - lactic acid . aqueous lactic acid feed for present purposes comprehends an aqueous mixture of one or more of l 1 a , l 2 a , and l 3 a , optionally with ld being present . l - lactic acid is the preferred feed configuration for making l - lactide , and is to be understood even though the configuration symbol is not used throughout this application . aqueous lactic acid feed is treated for removal of water therefrom until a degree of polymerization not substantially above about 2 is reached . the treatment then is ceased to produce a crude ld product . ld then is separated from the crude ld product . a preferred treatment involves heating the feed at elevated temperature to remove water . ld can be separated from the crude ld product by a variety of techniques to produce an ld - depleted product . this ld - depleted product , optionally augmented with additional aqueous lactic acid and / or water then can be readmitted to the process for making additional lactide . this cyclic or recycle process embodiment of the present invention enables very high lactide conversions to be realized .