History of Cremators & Cremation Furnaces

History of Cremators & Cremation Furnaces

1. Early primitive cremation (Ancient Times – 19th Century)

Cremation as a burial custom dates back thousands of years in ancient civilizations including ancient Greece, Rome, India and China. In ancient times, people only used simple open-air fire piles to burn human bodies. There was no fixed closed furnace equipment. The combustion was incomplete, producing heavy smoke and strong odor, and the whole process was easily affected by wind and weather.

For a long time, traditional burial customs dominated Europe, and cremation was rarely practiced. It was not until the mid-19th century that public health problems caused by crowded cemetery burials made medical experts and environmentalists advocate the revival of cremation. At that time, people began to explore closed high-temperature furnace equipment to achieve clean and thorough incineration.

2. The birth of the first modern cremation furnace (Mid-to-Late 1800s)

The world’s first scientific, enclosed cremator was invented by Italian professor Luigi Brunetti in 1873. He designed a closed brick combustion chamber with independent air supply to improve combustion efficiency and reduce smoke pollution.

In 1874, the first official public crematorium with standardized cremation furnaces was built in Milan, Italy. The technology quickly spread to Britain, Germany, France and other European countries. Early furnaces were heated by coal and coke, with simple structures, only one single combustion chamber, no secondary flue gas treatment devices, so smoke and odor problems still existed.

3. Technical upgrading of cremators (1900s – 1980s)

From the early 20th century to the 1980s, cremation equipment ushered in two major technological revolutions.First, fuel replacement: coal-fired furnaces were gradually replaced by diesel and gas-fired burners. Gas and diesel combustion burned more fully, produced fewer impurities, and the furnace temperature rose faster and more stably.

Second, the emergence of dual-chamber structure: equipment manufacturers added an independent secondary combustion chamber (afterburner) behind the primary chamber. High temperature above 850°C in the secondary chamber decomposed unburned tar, smoke and peculiar smell, greatly solving environmental pollution problems. This dual-chamber design has become the core standard of mainstream cremators.

In this period, cremation and cremation furnaces were gradually introduced to Asia, including Japan, South Korea and China. Funeral crematoriums with standardized furnaces were successively built in major cities.

4. Modern intelligent environmental cremators (1990s – Present)

Since the 1990s, with the rapid development of industrial automation and global increasingly strict environmental protection laws, cremation furnaces have entered the era of full intelligence and ultra-low emission.

1. Intelligent control: PLC automatic control systems are widely installed. The furnace automatically adjusts temperature, air intake and burner power according to different cremation stages, reducing manual operation and saving energy consumption.

2. Complete flue gas purification system: New cremators are equipped with integrated cooling, dust removal, desulfurization and denitrification devices. Harmful substances in exhaust gas are filtered and decomposed to meet strict international environmental emission standards.

3. Diversified types: Manufacturers have developed differentiated furnaces, including large human cremators for funeral parlors, small pet cremators, medical waste incinerators and dual-fuel switchable furnaces to meet different market demands.

Today, dual-chamber, fully automatic, environmentally friendly cremators have become standard equipment for funeral industries worldwide. The whole industry is constantly optimizing furnace lining materials, energy-saving combustion technology and waste gas treatment technology to achieve lower energy consumption and zero visible smoke emission.