Bio-Cremation

Bio-cremation (using pressurized saltwater), also known as alkaline hydrolysis, liquid cremation, aquamation, or resomation, is the safest and most environmental interment methods available. It is a process of dissolving the remains of humans and animals in an alkaline solution . One myth is that the process uses acid, but it’s actually just a mixture of water and potash. (Potash is just a fancy way of saying water-soluble potassium salt.)

You read that right — it’s nothing more than saltwater.

The process works in much the same way that a body would naturally decompose in soil, except at an accelerated rate. In nature, your body takes anywhere from 10 to 50 years to decompose to a skeleton; with bio-cremation, the process can take anywhere from 2 to 12 hours, saving an enormous amount of energy over other methods.

After Alkaline Hydrolysis

Regardless of the equipment used, the process of alkaline hydrolysis results in the same thing. The body returns to its elements — amino acids, peptides, sugars, and salts. All that’s left are the bones and any metal medical implants.

The bones are turned into the ashes you would normally expect from a traditional cremation. In many cases, there are actually more of them because none of the bone burns away in the process. The liquid containing the amino acids, peptides, sugars, and salts is filtered and released.

This is the part of the process that seems to make people the most uncomfortable, but what is released is essentially the same materials that are released as smoke when a body is cremated. In addition to that, many of these materials are washed down the drain during the embalming process in a traditional burial.

Bio-Cremation/Alkaline Hydrolysis Availability

Although patented by Amos Herbert Hobson in 1888, only 13 states in the U.S. allow alkaline hydrolysis. These include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Vermont, and Wyoming. It was previously legal in New Hampshire, but lobbyists had it banned in 2008.

In Canada, only three provinces consider it legal — Saskatchewan became the first province in 2012. Since then, Quebec and Ontario have legalized it as well.

According to the Cremation Association of North America, cremation rates are reaching as high as 74% in some locations. Combine that with a rise in “green” funerals, and it may be a matter of time before alkaline hydrolysis takes off.