In India, there are over one billion people, 800 million of whom follow the Hindu faith. Hinduism almost universally prescribes cremation as the method of disposition of the body after death. Traditionally, this is done in open-air on a wood-fueled pyre. Obviously the need to perform several million such cremations per year is (and has been) creating some serious ecological problems, including but not limited to deforestation (50 million or so trees per year are required for cremations alone), local air pollution (due to the smoke), and pollution of rivers (especially the Ganges, due to the dumping of ashes, not only of the deceased but also of the hundreds of pounds of wood used as fuel.)
Local officials have apparently come up with an alternative - the electric crematory. Yes, I said electric. I was quite stunned by this, as most Western crematories are powered by the direct combustion of natural gas or heating oil, not indirectly by electricity, which seems like an extremely expensive and wasteful practice due to the massive energy loss that takes place when the primary fuel (usually coal) is converted to electrical energy.
ELECTRIC CREMATORIUM IN INDIA - IMAGE FROM MURALI ARCHITECTS. NOTE THE CHIMNEY STACK.
I cannot imagine how such as facility would work well, as I think back to the electric kilns we used in middle school art classes to fire our clay pots and such. Gas or oil burners provide a defined flame to support the combustion of any smoke or odors, as there is usually an afterburner chamber at the back of the furnace which is operated at a higher temperature to ensure the oxidation of any organic compounds before sending the flue gases into the atmosphere. In an electric facility, the only way I can imagine this being done is by funneling the effluent gases through a matrix of energized, orange-hot nichrome wire, or by using a catalytic converter which will combust the flue gases at a lower temperature. At least 800°C is necessary to prevent the formation of dioxins and other nasty persistent organic pollutants.
As far as energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions are concerned, these things are going to be ridiculously bad when the electricity used to power them is coming from coal. Coal is burned at the power plant, and only about one-third of its energy is converted into electricity. The rest of the energy is wasted up the cooling towers.
Energy BalanceAccording to http://www.teriin.org/tech_cardamom.php...
A traditional wood-fueled cremation can require up to a half ton of wood. Unsustainable wood harvesting has numerous ecological consequences, higher atmospheric CO2 levels being just one.
A diesel crematory is said to consume about 25 liters of diesel per incineration. Diesel fuel contains about 140,000 BTU of energy per U.S. gallon. With 3.8 liters to the gallon, that is around 6.6 gallons, or 921,000 BTU.
An electric crematory is said to consume 165 kilowatt-hours of electricity per incineration. One kWh contains 3412 BTU of energy, so that is 563,000 BTU of electricity. Since coal and nuclear power stations are typically around 33% efficient, there are over 1.7 million BTU of primary energy consumed per incineration. To put this into perspective, 165 kWh is about the same amount of electricity used in my apartment over two weeks to support the modern American lifestyles of three people plus guests. This much electricity costs me almost $30 U.S. to buy. The entire cremation service is offered for the equivalent of $4 U.S. (granted it is a developing country) The governments often subsidize the electricity supply in order to promote the use of the electric crematoria.
The electric facilities are apparently extremely unpopular, as people find it difficult to part with tradition (not surprising, as just the term "electric" brings about industrial/sterile thoughts). They also suffer from power cuts which take place at random times, leaving the disgusting problem of a half-combusted body in the retort, reducing the dignity of the process and turning off prospective users. The voltage on the Indian power grid is rarely what it should be, and the electric heaters don't put out at the lower voltage, requiring much more time for the process to be carried out and likely ineffective combustion. Wood cartels (which control and provide the fuel for the traditional cremations) often collaborate with the operators of the electric facilities to ensure that there will be malfunctions or no diesel fuel for the backup generators when the power goes off. The entire system is apparently ripe with corruption. It is quite unfortunate than even carrying out people's last rites must be fraught with greed and corruption.
What I am wondering is if they can get diesel fuel to power backup generators significant enough to run the furnaces during power outages, why not just install diesel-burning crematoria? Surely they are more effective (no incomplete combustion due to sagging voltage), cheaper to operate, and reliable in case of a power outage (the electrical blowers and fans needed could be backed up with a much smaller generator). Not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions and pollution will be much lower than using the coal-produced electricity and cost savings of not having to install massive generators and buy diesel for them (2/3 of which is blown out the exhaust pipe as heat).
Facilities powered by synthesis gas from biomass gasifiers are apparently gaining popularity as well. This seems like a very good solution to clean the process up and use less fuel. The heat is being derived from wood, which may make it more attractive to the very devout. Wood is traditionally a vital part of the process, necessary to separate the soul from the body.
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This blog post from the Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Bangalore, states that:
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has guaranteed 440 watts of power to the crematorium. A generator has also been put in place.
I'm going to guess here, but I am sure that they meant kilowatts instead of watts. 440 watts is just half the power my toaster uses to toast bread, let alone something that can completely combust a human body in a few hours...
