What temperature is needed for effective winterization?

Most operators target between -20°C and -40°C for the cold soak step, with lower temperatures generally producing more complete lipid precipitation. The required temperature depends on the specific lipid profile of the crude — material extracted from high-wax cultivars may require colder conditions than material with a lower total fat content. Soak duration at temperature is equally important; an overnight cold soak of 12 or more hours is common practice to allow complete precipitation before filtration.

Does winterization remove terpenes along with the fats?

Some terpene loss does occur during winterization, primarily because terpenes are volatile and can evaporate from the ethanol solution during the cold soak or during filter handling. However, winterization is generally applied to crude that has already lost much of its terpene content through drying, curing, or a warm extraction process. For operations using live or fresh-frozen starting material where terpene preservation is the priority, the extraction and post-processing workflow is typically designed differently to capture and preserve terpenes before winterization.

Can you skip winterization if you are making distillate?

Skipping winterization is possible but generally not recommended for operations running a thin-film distillation step. Lipids and waxes that carry through to the distillation system can foul evaporator surfaces, reduce throughput, and co-distill into the cannabinoid fraction under some vacuum conditions, lowering distillate purity. Clean, winterized feedstock extends the run time between evaporator cleanings and produces more consistent distillate quality.

What is the difference between winterization and dewaxing?

The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but strictly speaking they describe slightly different steps. Winterization refers to dissolving crude in cold ethanol and filtering at cold temperature to remove fats and lipids — it is the ethanol-based cold precipitation process described in this article. Dewaxing, in the hydrocarbon extraction context, refers to an in-line or post-extraction cold filtration step using the hydrocarbon solvent itself. Both processes achieve similar lipid removal goals, but through different solvents and at different points in the process train.

How do I choose between the 25.FF, 50.FF, and 100.FF evaporators?

The right model depends on the daily ethanol volume your winterization step generates. The [50.FF](/equipment/50ff) is rated at 50 gallons per hour and can recover up to 400 gallons in 24 hours — a useful reference point for sizing. If your operation generates substantially less ethanol per shift, the [25.FF](/equipment/25ff) is the entry-scale starting point. If you are running multiple extraction shifts or processing ethanol volumes that would require more than one 50.FF running continuously, the [100.FF](/equipment/100ff) is the largest-throughput option in the line. Decimal Engineering can help you match evaporator capacity to your specific extraction and winterization volumes — [contact the team](/contact) for a sizing conversation.

Winterization Explained: Removing Fats, Lipids, and Waxes

Learn how winterization works, why it matters for clarity and vape-cart compatibility, and what filtration equipment fits each production scale.