Cremator process in a crematorium

The cremation process and explained what happens inside a cremator. To start the cremator process, the casket is put into the cremator’s chamber also know as retort and then burnt or better said cremated. All ornaments and fittings are left on the casket, except the name plate. The fittings are burnt with the coffin as they are typically made of plastic. When the body is burnt, bones and calcium deposits drop through to the ash-pan so the ashes or cremains can cool down in the ash-pan fridge.

Cremator process inside the cremator

The cremation process takes one to one and a half hours to burn a body at a heat source of 900 till 1100 degrees Celsius. About 80 Kg will burn each hour.

History cremation process

The earliest known method of cremation was the log pyre. In more elaborate practices, pitch and gums were added to the wood. In modern crematoria open fires are not used; instead, the body is placed in a chamber or retort, where intense heat transforms it in an hour or two to a few Kilograms of white, powdery ash. Disposal of the ashes varies in different parts of the world and includes;

• The revival of interest in cremation in Europe and the United States began in the late 1800s with the rise of large cities and the realisation of the health hazard associated with crowded cemeteries. It was not until 1884 that a British court first ruled cremation a legal procedure. Soon after many other European countries also legalised the practice. The first crematorium in Australia was built in 1925 at Rookwood, New South Wales.
• Today many Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic church allow cremation. The Pope lifted the ban on cremations on the 5th July, 1963 and in 1966 made it permissible for Roman Catholic priests to conduct a cremation service at a crematorium.
• While cremation is forbidden by Orthodox Jews and Muslims, it is the usual method of disposal for Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists.
• In some Asian countries cremation is available to only a favoured few: in Tibet it is usually reserved for the high lamas; in Laos it is for those who die ‘fortunately’ (ie., of natural causes at the end of a peaceful and prosperous life).

The casket is put into the cremator’s chamber and then burnt. All ornaments and fittings are left on the casket, except the name plate. The fittings are burnt with the coffin as they are typically made of plastic. When the body is burnt, bones and calcium deposits drop through a hole into a ash container in front or back of the cremation chamber. It takes one to one and a half hours to burn a body at a heat source of 900 degrees Celsius. About 80 Kg will burn each hour. Only one body is cremated at a time in the cremator’s chamber fits only one casket. When the remains have cooled, a magnet is run over them to pick up any nails, screws, surgical pins or titanium artificial limbs. Bones and calcium deposits are milled down to finer particles in a grinder a so called cremulator. The ashes weight around 2 – 3 Kg and are available to relatives 24 hours after cremation. This can be different per country, in The Netherlands the ashes are placed in a cremation container and have to be stored at the crematory for one month before relatives can get the ashes.