Aquamation vs Fire Cremation

The Aquamation Process

Aquamation, also known as water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis, is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional flame cremation. Aquamation is a process that uses a solution of water and Alkali salts to cremate a body — not fire.

During the aquamation process, human remains are loaded into a stainless steel cylinder, which fills with a solution of 95% water and 5% Alkali salts, the same salts that are found in natural soaps and household cleaners.

During the aquamation process, human remains are loaded into a stainless steel cylinder, which fills with a solution of 95% water and 5% Alkali salts, the same salts that are found in natural soaps and household cleaners.

The water gently rushes over the body in the chamber with the addition of some heat and pressure. Over the course of 4 hours, the soft tissue of the body is fully dissolved, leaving behind soft, brittle bone matter. Once dry, these bone fragments are broken down to make pure, white ashes (of which there are 33% more than flame cremation.)

While it may sound like an oxymoron, alkaline hydrolysis is still a form of cremation, as it involves the decomposition of soft tissue, and the return of bones in the form of ashes. (Yes, the ashes from flame cremation are almost completely bone.) The ashes are fine, white, and consistent in size.

That being said, there are many differences between aquamation and flame cremation, the main one being the overall sustainability of aquamation versus as compared to flame cremation. Aquamation releases no harmful emissions, and uses around 10% of the overall energy input that traditional fire cremation uses.

Flame cremation produces ashes that are grey or sandy, and irregular in size. Ashes are almost completely made of pulverized bone material.

As flame cremation involves combustion, greenhouse gases are emitted throughout the process. Burning a body with fire cremation typically releases around 540lbs of Carbon Dioxide (CO2). If pacemakers are left in the body, these can explode and release poisonous gases such as methane.

Is Aquamation More Sustainable?

Aquamation is a much more eco-friendly choice for human disposition than fire cremation. It is also considered more gentle, peaceful, and humane than typical fire cremation (while also producing more ashes for family members to keep/share). A study by Dutch researcher Elisabeth Keijzer (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/dissolving_the_dead) found that the overall environmental impact of water cremation was 5% (or 20x less) than flame cremation.

While the idea of cremation is more commonly associated with flame cremation, both processes have been around for centuries. Aquamation was first patented in 1888, and has been in use in the US for decades. The Mayo Clinic has used Aquamation as a final disposition method for donated bodies since 2005, and UCLA has used it since 1995.

In 2021, around 3.3 million people died in the US. Around 60% of these deaths involved fire cremation as a final method of disposition. If all of those cremations used water instead of fire, we would have saved over 1.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gases from being emitted.

While there are many factors that go into choosing a final disposition for yourself or your loved ones, everyone should consider the role their lives (and deaths) play in the overall health of the planet and atmosphere. With climate change becoming an increasingly existential threat, sustainability is more important now than ever before.

If you’d like to know more about aquamation, or want to pre-arrange a service today, be sure to check out Pisces — an online funeral home exclusively providing aquamation services in California. Arrange online today, or give us a call: no funeral home visit required.