We received an enquiry from a Consultant in Maharashtra for an Animal Cremator / Incinerator required by a zoological park. We sent our offer against the same and did not think about it for some time. It was almost 2 years later that the zoo authorities got in touch with us, referring to our offer. They said the contract including civil work has been tendered and given to a local contractor on condition that he should buy an Animal Cremator with all the necessary ancillary equipment.

The capacity required was 350 kg weight acceptance with a burning rate of 250 kg/h. The dead animal could be a deer or a large animal in that range. To load the animal carcass into the burning chamber, we needed to have a large charging door, which means it cannot be operated manually. It has to be either hydraulically or electrically operated. Additionally a crane is required to lift and load.

Moreover there is the issue, while burning animal carcasses, of the release of body fat, which if not addressed at the design stage, will lead to unmanageable leakage of fat thru the ash doors and other openings.  The entire incinerator system has to be made fully automatic so that after loading the waste, the only time the operator has to be do anything with the system will be to de-ash after it has cooled down.  The system has to meet the prescribed emission norms, for which a flue gas scrubbing arrangement has to be in place, along with a 30 metre stack.

The design did not take long because we were fully aware of all the requirements plus the specifications. An electrically operated charging door, with a jib crane for loading was arranged. A special refractory hearth was made with provision for fat to be collected below. Burners were located both for burning the carcass as well as the fat.  The system was fabricated, lined and assembled and was offered for inspection. It was despatched to the site after clearance was given. Subsequently it was installed at site and commissioned to the satisfaction of the zoo authorities.

While on this subject, it will not be out of place to mention the fact that we have considerable experience handling animal waste including poultry and hatchery waste, pet animals, etc. In fact a leading Indian poultry company is one of the largest users of our poultry incinerators for nearly 2 decades in many of their poultry farms and hatcheries.

More details on this project here - Animal Cremator for Mumbai Zoo