a DEEPER LOOK at the environmental impact

When we compare Alkaline Hydrolysis to flame based cremation, we see an extreme impact in energy efficiency – greater than 90% energy savings compared to flame cremation, with 1/10th of the carbon footprint. and that's only the beginning! 

​The Aquamation process uses less water than a single household uses in one day (source: watr.usgs.gov).  This includes all of the water used for the process, along with the clean water rinsing of the final remains and vessel. The water is returned to the ecosystem via the normal wastewater treatment facility. The Aquamation process produces a completely sterile solution of amino acids, sugars, nutrients, salts, and soap in a water solution. These are the byproducts of natural decomposition.

With flame cremation, which operates at 1600-1800°F, mercury contained in the amalgam of teeth becomes vaporized and released to the air.  A 2015 study by a collaboration of researchers from University of Minnesota Dental School and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was the first to quantify how much mercury we actually have in our teeth.  Their study yielded a result of 2.3 grams per subject.  According to a podcast with Dr. Sandra Myers, at the US’s current cremation rate of 50%, baby boomers alone will contribute 190,148.7 pounds of mercury to the atmosphere.  
Mercury vaporizes at 674.1°F, and alkaline hydrolysis uses much lower temperatures of 200-300°F.    The mercury remains intact, bound in the teeth, and these teeth are recycled through an EPA-approved dental amalgam handler.  Release of mercury from fillings to the environment is completely prevented.

Pacemakers and any other battery operated medical implants must be removed prior to flame cremation because the batteries explode at the temperatures used in the flame process.  With Aquamation, the process is performed at a much lower temperature that does not react with the batteries.  This means that the family does not have to incur the cost of pacemaker removal, nor does the loved one have to go through the surgical process of having the device removed.  Operating staff are not at risk of injury.  The pacemaker is recovered and recycled at the end of the process. 

Medical implants are not destroyed in this process.  The metals are clean, sterilized, and look brand new after the process.  These metals are recycled through a metal refiner to be made into new materials.  The metal refineries are amazed at the pristine condition of metals from alkaline hydrolysis versus flame cremation.  ​​

​The ability to recycle metals provides an enormous environmental benefit.  In fact, a 2011 study on the impact of funeral practices (Keijzer 1, 2) found that alkaline hydrolysis is more environmentally friendly than even natural burial.  This is true even when natural burial was considered at its optimal scenario, known as green burial.  Green burial was defined as no body bag, no embalming, the most ecologically friendly biodegradable body covering (which happened to be cardboard), no use of an elevator, graves dug by hand, no monument – only natural markers, only biologically degradable clothing, no jewels, no maintenance of burial grounds, and more people buried per graveyard.  Even though green burial directly uses the least amount of energy, the reclamation of metals from bodies that undergo alkaline hydrolysis more than offsets this energy gap.  
We can look to the types of metals used for implants and how they are made to understand the environmental credit of the recycling.  Most medical implants are made of titanium.  While titanium is the ninth most abundant element on Earth, its acquisition comes with a steep environmental cost.  The cost to obtain and transport the materials used to make titanium – often from other countries – is one aspect, while the actual process to turn it into usable products is another (extraction, purification, reactor, alloy creation, and byproduct management).  According to the United States Geological Survey, the US has become highly dependent on the import of materials used to make titanium.  
A 2017 Italian study (De Angelis, et al.) found that the average person contains one half pound of metal from implants.  Metal implants are even more common in the United States and Canada. It was estimated in 2014 by a study conducted at Mayo Clinic that greater than 7 million Americans have artificial hips and knees, with more than 600,000 knees and 400,000 hips replaced each year.  A knee replacement weighs 1-2 pounds, and a hip implant weighs 3-5 pounds.  According to the CDC’s most recent death statistics, there are greater than 2,744,248 deaths per year in the US alone.    This equates to at least 1,262,354 pounds of precious metals that could be recycled each year, or enough precious metals to construct 4 Statue of Liberty-sized structures out of titanium each year.  Aquamation allows a new life for these metals and prevents the environmental impact of creating new.

A commonly misunderstood fact is that it is actually the water that performs the breakdown during the Aquamation process, not the alkali. 
A hydrolysis reaction is any type of reaction where bonds are cleaved by the insertion of water molecules.  With alkaline hydrolysis, a base is added to water to create an alkaline environment.  This changes the behavior of the water molecules, causing them to dissociate into hydrogen and hydroxide ions.  The solution is only 5% alkali; 95% is water.  Equally important to the process are the physical characteristics of the system (design), the continuous flow of the solution, and the heat.  This all relates to collision theory and the rate and completeness of a reaction. 
Our bodies are 65% water to being with, along with fat, protein, minerals, and carbohydrates.  During the process, fats are reduced to salts, protein to amino acids and small peptides (which are groups of a few amino acids) and carbohydrates are reduced to sugars.  The process breaks down all organic materials into their most basic building blocks, so small that no trace of protein or nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) remain.  The organics are dissolved into the water, which consists of 96% water and 4% amino acids, sugars, and salts by weight.

Where do we get our information? Right from the source! Bio-Response Solutions is an engineering company who creates the sustainable systems used for Aquamation. Please visit their website and follow them on social media to learn more about who they are, and the amazing technology they provide! 

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Want to know more about the actual process? 

The Aquamation process is performed after any viewing or visitation services the family wishes to have.  When it’s time for the process, the individual body is respectfully placed in a stainless steel vessel.   Alkali is added to the process based on individual characteristics (weight, sex, embalming status), and the vessel fills with water.  The solution of 95% water and 5% alkali is heated to 200-300°F, and gently circulated for the entire length of the process.    At the end of the process, all material is broken down to the smallest building blocks; there is no DNA or RNA remaining. The sterile process water is released for recycling (our bodies are approximately 65% water to begin with), and the vessel performs a fresh water rinse for the equipment and remains.  When the operator opens the door, only the inorganic bone minerals remain. These minerals are processed into powder and returned to the family in an urn.  This final processing step is the same process that is followed with flame cremation.  Many families hold a celebration of life or gathering when the loved one’s remains are returned to the family’s care.