Numerical investigation on energy efficiency and pollutant emission of a green double-chambered cremator

Abstract

Cremation is the main approach to disposing of corpses as a traditional burial substitute. With the increasing number of deaths from the aging society, the growing trend of hazard pollutant and carbon emissions from crematories requires immediate actions to promote upgrades to existing cremators. However, a comprehensive optimizing of crematories is challenging because energy conservation and reduction of HAPs conflictly require reducing and increasing the combustion intensity, respectively. To solve the dilemma, this study developed a 3-D numerical model for the combustion and heat transfer processes in a double-chambered cremator. The model was validated by the experimental data extracted from an in-operation crematoria plant. The effect of cremator structure, fuel usage, and air–fuel ratio on velocity and temperature distributions in the chambers were quantitatively evaluated to satisfy the requirements for the energy consumption and the pollutant reduction. Up to 60% of fuel usage reduction was achieved by optimizing the inlet conditions compared to the conventional cremators. A clearly decline in combustion intensity was observed with a decreasing body fat percentage. Adopting an inter-chamber conduction layer helped to transport a maximum of 3079 kJ heat from the primary chamber to the secondary chamber, which contributed to the energy conservation for the green cremator.