what are the elements that are consist in a cremated body?

Hello clamsisters,

A pathologistwhen asked the same question replied that during
cremation first the water and the organic (carbon-based)
macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates get
volatalized. You are left with a mixture of mainly calcium compounds
(he mentions as an example the bone-hardening mineral hydroxyapatite).
In addition to this, you get various compounds of sodium, potassium
and magnesium, probably in the form of various chlorides, oxides,
sulfates, sulfites and nitrates, as well as compounds of trace
elements such iron, copper, very small quantities of some other metals
(for example, lead from tooth fillings), and iodine compounds. He
thinks that probably not all the organic macromolecules get totally
oxidised and so guessed there may be a small amount of tarry compounds
as well, but was not able to specify them exactly.

This information is in a message sent to the PATHO-L mailing list, and
you can read it at: http://www.ualberta.ca/htbin/lwgate/PATHO-L/archives/patho-l.archive.1999-02/Subject/article-106.html

After cremation: "Adult remains weigh 4-8 pounds, a child's remains
weigh about 2-3 pounds."
From the Cremation FAQ of Oahu Cemetery:
http://www.oahucemetery.org/cremation_faq.html

Search strategy 1. ashes cremation calcium

2. ashes weight "after cremation" body

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Request for Answer Clarification by clamsisters-ga on 19 Nov 2002 21:17 PST

could you tell me the exact percentage for the breakdown of the  body
in the cremation

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Clarification of Answer by tehuti-ga on 20 Nov 2002 01:34 PST

Oops, I put my clarification in as a comment.  Please see below.

As far as I can see, there is no published analysis of human ash, but
it is possible to form an estimate as follows:

Firstly, we know the approximate percentage make up of the living
human body:
Oxygen 65%, Carbon 18%, Hydrogen 10%, Nitrogen 3%, Calcium 1.5%,
Phosphorous 1.0%, Potassium 0.35%, Sulfur 0.25%, Sodium 0.15%,
Chlorine 0.15%, Magnesium 0.05%, Iron 0.0004%, Iodine 0.00004
http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/0211/b01050d.html

As I already stated in my answer, the carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and
oxygen from the living body can be ignored, because they are
volatalized away, except for a tiny quantity that cannot be estimated.

Therefore, the percentage make up of cremated human remains will be
approximately:

Calcium 43.5%, Phosphorus 28.9%, Potassium 10.1%, Sulfur 7.5%, Sodium
4.3%, Chlorine 4.3%, Magnesium 1.4%, Iron 0.01%, Iodine 0.001% and
very minute quantities (less than 0.001%) of other substances, such as
lead, silicon, the elements which make up the tarry compounds
mentioned in the answer, and other trace elements.

These percentages will vary a bit from one individual to another,
because the amount of calcium in bone varies.  For example, people
with osteoporosis have less calcium than people with healthy bone.