About Alkaline Hydrolysis (Water Cremation)
In brief, water cremation uses ph-altered tap water to accelerate the natural decomposition of animal tissues over several hours. The bones that remain after this process are processed into ashes and can be returned to the family. For more details about each step in the process, see the next section about "How it works".
How it works
Vessel Loading
Body placed in vessel
Animals are loaded into a stainless-steel basket within the cremation chamber. Removable dividers allow the operator to create many custom-sized chambers for individual animals.
alkali added
A combination of potassium hydroxide and/or sodium hydroxide is added. The chemicals usually come in the form of flakes or “beads”. The amount of alkali added is dependent on the combined weight of all animals in the cremation chamber.
- Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is also known as caustic potash or potash lye. It is derived from the electrolysis of potassium salt water into potassium hydroxide.
- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is also known as caustic soda. It is derived from the electrolysis of salt water into sodium hydroxide.
- Both KOH and NaOH are commonly used in soap making and in the manufacturing of other personal hygiene products.
water added
The chamber is filled with hot water. The alkali dissolves into the water creating a solution that has a pH of approximately 14.
- About pH: pH ranges from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral. Below 7 is acidic; above 7 is alkaline (or basic). Common acids are things like lemon juice and vinegar. Things like baking soda, hand soap, and bleach are alkaline.
Vessel Operation
warm up
The hot water initially added is heated further, to approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit. At no point does the temperature exceed 212 degrees (water is not boiling).
cycle initiated
A pump gently circulates the heated, alkaline solution over the course of several hours. During this time, the body is reduced in weight by approximately 97% as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are converted to a sterile solution of sugars, soaps, peptides, amino acids, electrolytes.
Bodies are 60% water already. The other 40% is comprised mostly of fats and proteins.
Bodies are 60% water already. The other 40% is comprised mostly of fats and proteins.
proteins
Types of proteins include antibodies, contractile proteins, enzymes, hormonal proteins, structural proteins (collagen, elastin, keratin), storage proteins, and transport proteins. Proteins are large molecules comprised of one or more polypeptides. Polypeptides are long chains of amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids. Unique combinations of amino acids mean there are thousands of different proteins. AH breaks the peptide bonds between amino acids, reducing proteins to their component amino acids. Examples of Amino acids include Glutamine (C5H10N2O3), Isoleucine (C6H13NO2), Tyrosine (C9H11NO3), etc. Notice the chemical formula for amino acids are varying compositions of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen.
fats
Fats are degraded to soaps. Fats and oils contain esters; when hydrolyzed, glycerol and soap (the salt of fatty acids) are formed. This is known as saponification.
- About soaps. In chemistry and biology, soaps are the salts of fatty acids. Natural soaps are readily biodegradable in nature. Synthetic soaps like what can sometimes be found in modern detergents, can be less biodegradable and more toxic to aquatic life.
- About salts. In chemistry and biology, salts are compounds with positively and negatively charged ions. The ions are bonded due to the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions, by ionic bonds. We’re all familiar with table salt, NaCl, sodium chloride. Other salts include magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), aka Epsom salt. Or Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), aka baking soda. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic soda, is one of the common alkalis used in AH and is also a salt.
dna, rna
DNA and RNA are not proteins or fats; they're comprised of Nucleic acids (sugar, phosphate, nitrogen). AH hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bonds of nucleotide chains. Sugars and minerals are released. No DNA or RNA remains in the effluent.
Vessel Unloading
calcium phosphate
Bones and teeth are made of calcium phosphate and are not completely dissolved during AH, though they are made very fragile and are easily broken apart. Bones and teeth are comprised, like any other tissue in the body, of a cells in an extracellular matrix (ECM). The calcium phosphate component in the ECM in bones and teeth remain intact. As an analogy, picture the body’s tissues like a piece of woven fabric; when AH degrades everything but the calcium phosphate component of the ECM it's like unraveling 50% of the threads from our woven fabric. The integrity of the fabric is compromised just as the structural integrity of the bones and teeth are compromised.
The leftover calcium phosphate is run through a cremulator which pulverizes the fragments into a uniform, homogenous mixture resembling sand. These are "ashes", or "cremains", which can be placed in an urn and returned to the family.
The leftover calcium phosphate is run through a cremulator which pulverizes the fragments into a uniform, homogenous mixture resembling sand. These are "ashes", or "cremains", which can be placed in an urn and returned to the family.
Sterilization
The leftover water and calcium phosphate is sterile. The AH process achieves a "6-log reduction" in reducing the population of microorganisms to zero. This is the same sterility required for implantable medical devices and surgical instruments.
In tests, even when the alkaline hydrolysis was interrupted halfway through the process (and body decomposition was not yet completed) bacterial spores were already 100% inactivated. AH is more effective at killing bugs than autoclave sterilization, and cleaner for the environment than incineration.
AH also converts/decomposes fixing agents (like embalming fluid, formaldehyde, phenol, glutaraldehyde) and cytotoxic drugs (like chemotherapy drugs) into harmless component parts.
Data show that AH is effective at inactivating:
In tests, even when the alkaline hydrolysis was interrupted halfway through the process (and body decomposition was not yet completed) bacterial spores were already 100% inactivated. AH is more effective at killing bugs than autoclave sterilization, and cleaner for the environment than incineration.
AH also converts/decomposes fixing agents (like embalming fluid, formaldehyde, phenol, glutaraldehyde) and cytotoxic drugs (like chemotherapy drugs) into harmless component parts.
Data show that AH is effective at inactivating:
- Viruses: Avian influenza, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, brucellosis, foot-and-mouth disease, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever, swine flu, tularemia, rabies, HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hantavirus, rabies, Marburg and Ebola, African swine fever,
- Pathogenic bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Clostridium, Brucella abortus, Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium bovis, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Staph aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium fortuitum, and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
- Fungi: Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus
- Prions: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) like bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease, scrapie. Alkaline Hydrolysis has been specifically approved for the treatment of TSE waste.
- Giardia and other parasites
effluent
Once the alkaline hydrolysis cycle has completed, the water pH is now in the 10-11 range. Carbon dioxide gas is bubbled through the liquid which brings the pH down further toward neutral. The fluid is drained to a tank and allowed to cool. As the fats and proteins were degraded during AH, even more water is liberated. A single cycle may produce up to 250 gallons of effluent.
The leftover water is a hydrolysate called "effluent". Hydrolysates of animal material can be used in agriculture as a fertilizer or soil amendment, or in composting, because it can provide readily available nutrients to plants. The effluent from our water cremation operations is too dilute to have any reasonable commercial applications.
What's in the effluent? Mostly water! Amino acids (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen), sugars, soaps, electrolytes, salts, minerals (calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, nitrogen).
The leftover water is a hydrolysate called "effluent". Hydrolysates of animal material can be used in agriculture as a fertilizer or soil amendment, or in composting, because it can provide readily available nutrients to plants. The effluent from our water cremation operations is too dilute to have any reasonable commercial applications.
What's in the effluent? Mostly water! Amino acids (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen), sugars, soaps, electrolytes, salts, minerals (calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, nitrogen).
Alkaline Hydrolysis:
History, Industry Variations, Comparison to Flame Cremation
Originally patented in 1888, the first AH equipment was designed specifically to make fertilizer but interest grew when it became apparent that the process had the ability to effectively destroy pathogens in animals infected with zoonotic diseases. This had practical applications in livestock disease outbreaks. The process was revisited in 1994 just in time for the 1995 outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow disease). From 1995 - 2005, we started to see single-body human systems being manufactured as the process was adopted by body donation programs. Low-temp models that operate at atmospheric pressure entered the market around 2011.
AH equipment capacity ranges from small, benchtop laboratory units to large, agricultural units capable of processing 6 cows in one cycle. Some models operate at low-temperatures at atmospheric pressure, while others operate with pressure and at over 300 degrees F.
Compared to flame cremation, which is an oxidative process, AH is a reductive process. AH doesn't produce, liberate, or form any harmful end products from metals (like implants, hardware, tooth fillings). It also doesn't generate greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, or other emissions, particulates, or smoke. Operating an AH unit requires one-quarter of the energy input to run as compared to a flame cremation retort.
AH equipment capacity ranges from small, benchtop laboratory units to large, agricultural units capable of processing 6 cows in one cycle. Some models operate at low-temperatures at atmospheric pressure, while others operate with pressure and at over 300 degrees F.
Compared to flame cremation, which is an oxidative process, AH is a reductive process. AH doesn't produce, liberate, or form any harmful end products from metals (like implants, hardware, tooth fillings). It also doesn't generate greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, or other emissions, particulates, or smoke. Operating an AH unit requires one-quarter of the energy input to run as compared to a flame cremation retort.