Cremation furnaces

Some facts about the human cremation furnaces from DFW Europe. There are various cremation ovens. For example, DFW Europe manufactures the “warm-start DFW 6000 cremator” and the “cold-start DFW 4000 cremator“. To complete the general information about human cremation ovens, there is also a “hybrid electric cremator” and the “fall-through cremation furnace”. This kind of human cremator is not yet manufactured by DFW Europe. A “fall-through cremation oven” is not used in the Netherlands since these types of cremators are made for a continuous cremation process. In addition, the chance of “ash survey” with a “fall-through cremator” is greater. This is prohibited by Dutch law, but is permitted in Germany, for example.

The best cremator for a cremation

What is the best cremator for a cremation? To answer this question it is useful to know how many cremations a crematorium performs on annual basis? The DFW Europe cremators are the most innovative cremators. It is important that the cremation furnace is energy efficient to manage and enable an optimal cremation process.

Added to this is a mandatory filter installation, which means that every crematorium with a DFW Europe crematorium solution is assured of an environmentally friendly, green cremation and, as a result, conducts CSR in a socially responsible manner.

In the Netherlands, the Crematoria and Scattering Areas Activity Decree applies to every crematorium. This includes the air and soil regulations that the crematoria and stray fields must comply with. A distinction is made between human and animal crematoriums. Both have their own laws and regulations.

How does a cremation oven work?

• A human cremation takes around 75 – 90 minutes;
• Combustion is completely smoke-free and odorless;
• The temperatures are adjusted to the national standards.
• For the Netherlands it is true that the combustion chamber starts with 650 ° C, with an average of 1000 ° C to 1100 ° C;
• The environmental chamber temperature starts at 820 ° C, averaging 1100 ° C with peaks up to 1300 ° C;

Cremation process in a cremator

A cremation of a remains with a coffin takes place in a cremation oven. The cremation oven is a incinerator specially developed to burn the human body with a coffin. Before a corpse burn / cremation can take place, the environmental chamber is preheated to a temperature of 820 degrees Celsius. This is mandatory for cremation in the Netherlands.

If we look at other European countries, take England or Belgium as an example. Then it is mandatory to pre-heat both the environmental chamber and the combustion chamber to 820 degrees Celsius during the cremation. Preheating the environmental chamber will usually only be necessary for the first cremation of the day. After the first cremation, the crematorium oven remains sufficiently warm to allow the following cremation process to take place.

After the coffin with the remains is entered and the funeral fire catches fire, the temperature in the oven will rise to around 1100 degrees Celsius during the process. The cremation process is now fully automated, for which special cremation oven software has been developed. A computer keeps track of exactly what is happening in the cremation oven and can, if necessary, ensure that the correct temperatures are achieved for an optimal cremation process. Despite the automation of the process, there is always a crematorium employee present at a cremation. This operator is also called the “ovenist”. The kiln ensures that the coffin (possibly in the presence of the next of kin) is correctly entered into the cremation furnace.

To ensure that after the cremation no ashes can be exchanged, an identification stone with and for the crematorium unique cremation number is placed on the crate before entering the crate into the cremation oven. The furnace monitors the cremation process and ensures that the ashes of the deceased come to the right place. At the end of the cremation, the ash is neatly swept into the ash pan via the hold, after opening the ash valve. This way, the oven operator prevents ash splitting. The cremation operator must first thoroughly wipe the oven interior. After this, the combustion chamber is ready to perform the following cremation.

A cremation takes about 75 to 90 minutes, this can sometimes be a bit shorter or longer and depends on the weight of the deceased. For example, the cremation of a substantial person will take longer than that of a lean person. A cremation oven has on average a technical incineration capacity of approximately 100 kilograms per hour / organic material.

After one cremation, an average of 2.5 to 3 Kg of ash will remain. In special cases, it may happen that the deceased cannot be imported because, for example, the funeral casket is too wide for the cremation oven. The newest cremators from DFW Europe have a wider door as standard than their older predecessors. With new DFW Europe cremation ovens this is 130 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters high.

People sometimes wonder why there is no smoke to be seen from a chimney of the crematorium? This has to do with an innovative cremation filter technology that is currently installed behind the oven. This crematorium filter system is large, for this you need to reserve extra space when placing a cremation oven filter system. A post-combustion space is provided in the oven itself and the control of the cremation oven is written in such a way that the combustion is completely smoke-free and odorless. Nowadays, every modern crematorium is equipped with a mandatory crematorium filter system, so that, among other things, all the fine dust is completely collected. This cremation filter ensures that every crematorium meets the strict environmental requirements set in the “Activities Decree for crematoria and stray fields”, which was drawn up by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Netherlands.

A DFW Europe cremation oven is heated with natural gas, propane, biodiesel and or other fuel. The choice of different fuels depends on the choice made by the crematorium. In the Netherlands, the choice will often be natural gas but will be in the future all on electricity. But in Scandinavian countries, for example, biodiesel is chosen. After the cremation has taken place, the ashes of the remains and any other remains are collected. Think of certain types of metals such as screws and brackets that are incorporated into or in the box and not unimportantly any prostheses that can sit in people themselves and that do not burn.

The cremation furnace operator sweeps the ash into an ash pan, after which it is taken to the ash processing area and cooled in an ash fridge. The ash residues will then be treated on an ash processing table. First all large and small metals are removed from the ashes by means of a strong magnet. After all metals have been removed, the remains will be treated in a cremulator, creating one homogeneous ash mass, after which the ash is finally poured into an ash container. In the Netherlands, the crematorium is obliged to store the ashes for at least one month, so that surviving relatives have time to think about the destination of ashes from the deceased.

Cross section human cremator

Below you can see a cross-section of a DFW Europe cremation oven: cremation oven cross section.

1 Bar 1 2 Counter 2 3 Counter 3 4 Counter 4 5 Combustion room floor 6 Lintel flue gas entry 7 Subsequently 8 Floor afterburner room (bottom) 9 Subfloor afterburner room 10 door moldings 11 Door frame 12 Wall cremation room 14 Shaped chimney

Information cremation furnaces

• Read more about the Electric cremation oven
• Read more about the DFW 6000 cremation oven
• Read more about the DFW 4000 cremation oven
• Read more about the DFW 100 animal cremation oven