{"id":3180,"date":"2015-11-17T10:17:03","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T15:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.talkdeath.com\/?p=3180"},"modified":"2023-05-07T11:18:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T15:18:16","slug":"bio-cremation-greener-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talkdeath.com\/bio-cremation-greener-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Alkaline Hydrolysis: A Greener Death?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is legal in only 21 States<\/strong>, 5 Canadian Provinces and Territories<\/strong> and was condemned by the New York Catholic Conference in 2011?*<\/strong> The punchline to this bad setup is less funny than you may have hoped: Alkaline Hydrolysis, otherwise known as Bio Cremation, Aquamation, water cremation or resomation (resomation is a trademarked process). Alkaline Hydrolysis is a process that uses water and lye to break apart the body after death without the use of fire. This, proponents say, leads to a more environmentally friendly process for the disposal of bodies. Yet the response from lawmakers, governments and religious institutions has been rather lacklustre and even oppositional. To break down the process and consider the arguments, we spoke to funeral lawyers and Alkaline Hydrolysis experts to get the inside scoop.
\n*May 2023 Update<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Alkaline Hydrolysis Process<\/h3>\n
\"bio

A typical bio cremation chamber<\/p><\/div>\n

Bio cremation or aquamation is based on a process called alkaline hydrolysis. The corpse is placed in a chamber that is filled with 95% water and 5% alkali that is then heated to around 160\u00b0C \u00a0or 320 \u00b0F. The water never reaches the boiling point and instead, breaks the body down into its chemical components. In other words, skin, muscle and tissue are dissolved, leaving only the bones. This process takes around 3 hours to complete.
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