Frequently asked questions.

Foot and mouth disease spreads rapidly between cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, so carcasses must be disposed of quickly, close to where the animals died, and without moving infected material across roads or between farms.

High-temperature incineration destroys the carcass and the pathogens it carries in a single controlled burn, leaving only sterile ash. During an outbreak, the responsible animal-health authority directs how carcasses are handled — an on-site AIS Cyclone gives a farm a ready, contained disposal route if authorities permit its use.

Avian influenza outbreaks are controlled by the animal-health authority, which decides how birds on infected premises are disposed of. Outside of an outbreak, daily on-site incineration of mortalities is one of the strongest biosecurity measures a poultry unit can take: dead birds are destroyed the same day, with no storage bins attracting wildlife and no collection vehicles travelling between farms.

African swine fever survives for long periods in carcasses, meat and contaminated material, and spreads easily through movement of vehicles, people and products. Burning pig mortalities on site at high temperature removes the carcass completely and avoids the farm-to-farm traffic of collection services — two of the main routes by which the virus spreads.

Animals that react to a bovine TB test are normally dealt with under the instructions of the animal-health authority. For routine cattle mortalities, an on-site incinerator sized for whole adult cattle lets the farm dispose of carcasses promptly, reducing the time a carcass sits on the farm and the number of outside vehicles entering the yard.

Yes. AIS Cyclones hold the secondary chamber at 850°C or above for at least 2 seconds, and the primary chamber typically operates between 800 and 1,100°C. At these temperatures viruses, bacteria and resistant tissues are destroyed, leaving sterile ash.

Choose a model with a chamber large enough to take an adult animal whole — cutting carcasses is unpleasant and a biosecurity risk. The larger AIS Cyclones handle adult cattle, and the AIS 1250, 1870, 2650 and 3860 can be fitted with a dedicated hydraulic loader so a single operator can load heavy carcasses safely.

Pig units typically need to dispose of piglets every day and occasional sows or finishers. Size the chamber for your heaviest regular animal and your daily mortality volume; a unit that can be loaded while operating lets you add piglets through the day without waiting for a cycle to finish.

Work from your daily mortality weight, with headroom for peak days at the end of a crop or during heat stress. Broiler and layer units usually suit small to mid-sized AIS Cyclones that can burn daily mortalities in one cycle.

Yes. Sheep, lambs and goats are similar in size, so the same AIS Cyclone models suit all three. Lambing season brings the highest losses, so choose a chamber that can handle peak numbers rather than the yearly average.

Yes. Horses need one of the largest chambers in the range, and automatic loading is strongly recommended for safe handling.

An animal incinerator is a sealed, refractory-lined chamber with a burner that reduces carcasses to ash at high temperature. A second, hotter chamber (the afterburner) burns off gases and smoke before they leave the chimney, so the exhaust is clean.

At minimum you need a pet cremator, an area to store animals awaiting cremation, and a way of processing and returning ashes to owners. The AIS PCM is a starter pet cremation system that can grow with your business — up to two extra chambers (PCS1 and PCS2) can be added as demand increases.

Throughput depends on the model and the size of the animals. As a guide, the AIS PCM handles about 4 pets a day, the PCS1 about 8 and the PCS2 about 12.

A correctly operated pet cremator should produce no visible smoke or odour. Gases from the main chamber pass through a secondary chamber held at 850°C or above, which burns them off before they reach the chimney.

Yes. Running one animal per chamber lets you return a single pet's ashes to its owner. A multi-chamber AIS setup lets you run several individual cremations side by side.

A cremulator grinds the bone fragments left after cremation into fine, uniform ash ready to be returned to the owner in an urn or scatter tube. Talk to our team about ash processing as part of a complete pet crematorium setup.

Rules vary by country, state and local authority. AIS Cyclone units are engineered for on-site animal-waste incineration and supplied with technical and operating documentation to support approval in the destination market. Always confirm site-specific requirements with the relevant local authority before operation.

Approved animal-by-product incinerators must hold the secondary (afterburner) chamber at a minimum of 850°C for at least 2 seconds. AIS Cyclones are built to comfortably exceed this, typically operating between 800–1,100°C in the primary and ≥850°C in the secondary chamber.

Permit and licence requirements depend on the location, throughput, material and whether waste comes from your own operation or a third party. AIS can provide equipment specifications and operating documentation, while the relevant local authority should confirm site-specific requirements.

A typical operating log records the date, material type, approximate weight, start and finish times, and chamber temperatures achieved. AIS digital logging provides a clear cycle record to support local inspections and operating requirements.

It contains potentially diseased material on your site and destroys pathogens at high temperature in minutes. You eliminate the disease-transfer risk associated with collection trucks visiting daily or weekly, and you remove the storage period in which pathogens can multiply.

Yes. Composting relies on slow microbial breakdown over weeks and depends on conditions being maintained throughout the pile. High-temperature incineration destroys pathogens in a single, controlled burn — including bones and resistant tissues — leaving only sterile ash.

On-site incineration may be authorised during disease-control situations, subject to instructions from the responsible animal-health authority at the time.

Diesel/red diesel (gas-oil) is the standard option. LPG and natural gas variants are available on request. Burners are Riello or Ecoflam, depending on capacity and territory.

Fuel consumption depends on model and load, but a representative figure for our mid-range AIS Cyclones is 8–14 litres of diesel per hour during the active burn cycle. Once the chamber is hot, the burners modulate and consumption drops considerably.

A full load typically takes 6–10 hours including pre-heat, burn and cool-down. Smaller loads finish proportionally faster.

A small quantity of fine, sterile, mineral ash — typically 2–4% of the original mass. It is biologically inert and can be disposed of as agricultural waste in line with local guidance.

Considerably less than a composting pad. A medium AIS Cyclone needs roughly the footprint of a transit van, plus safe clearance for loading and the flue. We provide a site-plan template with every quote.

Properly serviced AIS Cyclones routinely give 15–20+ years of service. The hand-built steel chambers, ceramic-fibre lining and replaceable wear parts are designed for long-term operation.

An annual service covering burner, thermocouples, refractory and door seals is recommended, plus user-level checks before each burn. Servicing can be performed by AIS engineers under contract, or by a trained on-site technician using our spares.

Every new AIS Cyclone is supplied with a 3-year warranty as standard, covering the chamber, controls and core components when serviced in line with our schedule.

Yes — we hold UK & US stock of consumables (thermocouples, door seals, refractory, burner parts) for next-day dispatch on most lines. See our Spare Parts Catalog or contact support.