Managing Cemetery and Crematorium City of Pilsen, CZ

Technical data

Year of installation:           2021

No of cremation lines:       3

Model:                              GEM-CRM/6

Total solutions provider:   GEM-Matthews s.r.l.

High performance and flexibility during Pandemics

The global health emergency has caused a large increase in deaths. While previously the city of Pilsen recorded an average of 3,000 cremations per year, in March of this year alone it had to manage over 500.

To cope with this situation, in August the city of Pilsen was the first in the Czech Republic to equip itself with three new GEM Matthews cremators, replacing the original ones now obsolete, which have been in operation since 1994.

In critical situations, the new cremators by GEM Matthews are able to work 24 hours a day, carrying out a total of about 50 cremations a day. Each cremation lasts, in fact, from 70 minutes to about 2 hours, depending on the weight and consistency of the body. Consider that the floor of these cremators, made up of removable silicon carbide plates, is designed to support coffins weighing 350 kg against the traditional 180 kg.

Innovation and advanced technology

GEM Matthews advanced technology allows to remotely connect the cremators to the company headquarters in Italy, from which the technicians can monitor and manage the cremation process, detecting any faults in real time, and sending specialized personnel within 24 hours, if necessary. In any case, the cremators also have a control panel with touch screen and graphic interface, which shows the operator on site the process status and allows him to intervene at any time.

Each cremation plant works in a fully automated way; it is equipped with two chambers, made of refractory bricks with a high alumina content, so-called combustion and post-combustion. The actual cremation takes place in the combustion chamber, where the temperature varies from 900 to 1100 degrees; the process is completed in the post-combustion chamber, where the flue gases pass at a temperature of at least 850 degrees and reside there for at least 2 seconds, in compliance with European Regulations. After this time, the flue gases rise through an 11-meter chimney (externally clad in stainless steel) and then are released into the atmosphere.

These modern generation cremators have temperature probes and oxygen analyzers that constantly detect the combustion process. The PLC checks the data in real time and adjusts the combustion parameters accordingly, modulating for example the power of the burners and the air valves. The operation of the new devices therefore ensures greater efficiency and respect for the environment, optimizing the consumption of energy and auxiliary fuel.