Self-cleaning oven
{{Short description|Oven that burns off leftovers}}
A self-cleaning or pyrolytic oven is an oven which uses high temperature (approximately {{convert|932|F|C}}) to burn off leftovers from baking using pyrolysis, which uses no chemical agents. The oven can be powered by domestic (non-commercial) electricity or gas.
Pyrolytic process
Self-cleaning pyrolytic ovens reduce food soiling to ash with exposure to temperature around {{convert|932|F|C}}. The oven walls are coated with heat- and acid-resistant porcelain enamel.
A self-cleaning oven is designed to stay locked until the high temperature process is completed. To prevent possible burn injuries, a mechanical interlock is used to keep the oven door locked and closed during and immediately after the high-temperature cleaning cycle, which lasts approximately three hours. Usually, the door can be opened after the temperature cools to approximately {{convert|600|F|C}}.{{cite web |title=How do self-cleaning ovens work? |df=dmy-all |date=n.d. |url=https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/question559.htm |work=HowStuffWorks | accessdate=2021-11-04}}
Self-cleaning ovens usually have more insulation than standard ovens to reduce the possibility of fire. The insulation also reduces the amount of energy needed for normal cooking.{{cite web |last1=Kelly |first1=John |title=How Self-cleaning Ovens Work |df=dmy-all |date=2021-04-12 |orig-date=9 June 2012 |url=https://home.howstuffworks.com/self-cleaning-ovens.htm |website=HowStuffWorks |accessdate=2021-11-04 |quote=As a bonus, pyrolytic ovens save energy during normal baking because of the extra insulation that's added to contain the high heat.}}
Self-cleaning ovens are considered more convenient and time-saving, and therefore more cost-effective. However, because of the high temperatures, they produce smoke and require a high amount of energy. A typical 150-minute cycle will require more than 3 kWh of electricity.{{Cite web|url=https://hansa.bg/en/inspirations/cooking/piroliza-poczistwanjeto-nje-je-probljem|title=COOKING • Hansa|website=hansa.bg}} According to most professionals, the triggering of smoke alarms can be avoided by regular usage of the self-cleaning program.{{cite web |author1-last=Jones |author1-first=Carlye |title=Pros & Cons of Self-Cleaning Ovens |website=SFGATE |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |df=dmy-all |date=n.d. |url=https://homeguides.sfgate.com/pros-cons-selfcleaning-ovens-69125.html |access-date=2021-11-05}}
Alternative technologies
= Catalytic cleaning =
Catalytic "continuous clean" ovens rely on high-metal porous enamels to catalyze the reduction of oils to ash at normal cooking temperatures. The walls of catalytic self-cleaning ovens are coated with materials acting as oxidation catalysts, usually in the form of catalyst particles in a binder matrix. Cerium(IV) oxide is one of the common materials used. Other possibilities are copper, vanadium, bismuth, molybdenum, manganese, iron, nickel, tin, niobium, chromium, tungsten, rhenium, platinum, cobalt, and their oxides, either alone or in mixtures. Highly active coatings typically contain a copper oxide, manganese oxide or cobalt oxide, and copper and manganese oxides are often used together. The binder may be a fluoropolymer or an enamel frit.{{cite patent |country=US |number=3988514 |status=patent |title=Catalytic material |pubdate=1976-10-26 |gdate= |fdate=1973-11-21 |pridate= |invent1=Denny, Patrick John |invent2=Crooks, Donald Anderson |assign1=Imperial Chemical Industries Limited (London, EN) |url=https://www.freepatentsonline.com/3988514.html}} Retrieved 2021-11-05. In the 1990s, SRI International performed a study for Whirlpool Corporation, and changed the composition and application of the porcelain enamel surface found in ovens to one with low ionic content, and a film that makes fat into water-soluble esters.{{cite book |last=Nielson |first=Donald L. |title=A Heritage of Innovation: SRI's First Half Century |publisher=SRI International |df=dmy-all |year=2006 |isbn=9780974520810 |location=Menlo Park, California |page=11-1 |url={{Google books |id=dlkROwAACAAJ |plain-url=yes}} |access-date=2021-11-05}}
= Steam cleaning =
Another alternative to self cleaning ovens is steam cleaning ovens. It uses water with lower temperatures to clean the oven.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}