A fifth cremation furnace enters service at Montjuïc Cemetery to improve the operation, performance and functionality of the facilities
Cementiris de Barcelona continues to adapt its services to the public’s new demands
Cementiris de Barcelona is totally committed to adapting to the new realities, demands and needs of the general public. Cremation has gained so much ground over the last few years that there is currently more demand for it than for the burial service. Hence the need to adapt resources and infrastructure to the new needs.
In line with its Strategic Plan, the municipal company has now installed its fifth cremation furnace at Montjuïc Cemetery. The installation of this state-of-the-art technology will improve service operation, performance and functionality. Work has also been carried out to improve the reception and stay of the deceased’s families. A new, more comfortable room has been arranged that offers them greater privacy, if they so wish, to watch the coffin of the deceased enter the cremation furnace as a final act of farewell.
Once the furnace had been built, it was taken to the Montjuïc Cemetery last September and, following its installation, it has undergone a trial period pending Catalan government certification. It is now operational and has been incorporated into the cremation process as a new resource. The total investment is €1,109,720.40.
Energy efficiency and environmental control
The fifth cremation furnace will improve energy efficiency thanks to its low energy needs and high performance. Being more compact, it has its own integrated gas cooling system, thanks to which it is safer and uses up less useful space. This new furnace, like all the others, is subject to strict environmental controls. All the data on its emissions are continuously monitored by means of an automated measuring system (AMS) and then reported to the Catalan Government’s environmental surveillance service.
As regards operational management, the incorporation of this new furnace allows greater flexibility in carrying out maintenance and periodic checks, adapting and adjusting the preventive maintenance plan with the aim of identifying possible breakdowns in advance, thus reducing corrective maintenance costs and thereby maximising furnace operating capacity.
Like all the other furnaces, this new one has been connected to the recycling network of residual heat emitted during the cremation process, to provide hot water, heating and cooling throughout the cremation furnace installation.
This initiative has also made it possible to rearrange and improve the space as well as implement the most innovative technological control systems, which provide the furnace operators with remote, real-time information on operations throughout the facility.
The start-up of the fifth furnace is one of several projects aimed at providing a better response to the new realities and demands of the public, for example, that of expanding the ash-resting spaces.
