Sunday, March 18, 2012

Liquid cremation

Liquid cremation also known as alkaline hydrolysis or resomation, is a process that reduces the body into soft bone remains and liquified tissue in a matter of hours. The body is first place into a porous metal basket that allows fluid to exchange throughout the cycle.  The basket is slid on rails into the chamber where a mixture of water and alkali are automatically added to the vessel. Gas-powered steam generators build up pressure within the chamber as the temperature rises to around 170 degrees Celsius. All the body's tissue, muscle, hair and nails dissolve, as the re-circulation pump creates a whirlpool effect. An hour into the process the body has disappeared and only calcium phosphate outlines of the bones remain. The calcium phosphate is very soft and can be crushed in the hand. This wet, soft and soapy bone residue must be dried(under a heat lamp) before it can be pulverized. The calcium phosphate is great fertilizer, and can be spread in throughout your garden, making this an eco-friendly way to dispose of a body. 

Only certain clothing fibres will dissolve during the process though; cotton will not dissolve, thous silk and wool will. After the process fillings can be found as well as any metal implants. Also remaining are many litres of a liquid containing building blocks the corpse was made from: amino acids, peptides, sugar and mild soap. The liquefied tissue and chemicals are pre-treated with additional chemicals to balance the PH before it is flushed out of the resomation chamber into the local sewer system. The body has been reduced to a coffee-colored liquid with the consistency of motor oil and a strong ammonia smell, flushed into the sewer system. And to calcium phosphate that can be spread over the ground. 

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Info from here and here

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