Water Cremation FAQ
What is Water Cremation?
Also known as Alkaline Hydrolysis or Aquamation, Water Cremation is a gentle, flameless cremation process that uses water instead of fire. This is not a new technology - the first patent for alkaline hydrolysis was issued in 1888. It mimics natural decomposition processes: in nature, bodies buried in the earth are degraded by AH expedited by soil bacteria; food in the small intestine is digested to usable nutrients by AH, expedited by enzymes.
What does the process entail?
A combination of warm, flowing water and alkalinity (sodium and potassium salts) are used to accelerate the natural process of decomposition (tissue hydrolysis). The machine operates at atmospheric pressure and the temperature of the water does not exceed 208° F. Water Cremation reduces a body to bone fragments, like flame cremation. Bone fragments are processed in a cremulator, producing cremains. Families can choose to keep the cremains in an urn, or to bury or scatter them.
What's in the water at the end of the cremation process?
Not your pet's remains. Like flame cremation, fat and tissues are converted to basic organic compounds. In flame cremation these compounds are released into the air. In water cremation, these compounds are dissolved in water.
Can my animal be cremated with their collar, blanket, or favorite toy?
Unfortunately, no. The alkaline hydrolysis process which breaks down animal tissues has little-to-no effect on other materials. If it's important that a sentimental item remain with your animal, we can create a special altar area on top of the cremation chamber to keep it close by.
What happens to the leftover water?
Once the Water Cremation is complete, the leftover water (the "effluent") is a sterile solution of mostly (95%) water with dissolved amino acids, sugars, and salts (the natural byproducts of decomposition). The effluent is too dilute to have any reasonable application as a fertilizer. We return it to the ecosystem through land application, using it to hydrate plants and gardens, or in composting.
I don't think I want ashes back. Is that ok?
Of course that's ok. If you don't want ashes back, we will scatter them in a beautiful place.
I want to have a fancier urn. Do you provide those?
Not yet. You can buy urns directly from local funeral homes or from countless places online (including Amazon). Some things to keep in mind:
Why do you put the word 'ashes' in quotation marks? What are cremains?
These are both terms to refer to the organic fragments of bone that remain after cremation, though "ashes" only makes intuitive sense for flame cremation. In both flame and water cremation these remaining bone fragments are pulverized using a cremulator until they are a homogenous consistency resembling coarse sand. Cremains is a more accurate term for the pulverized bone fragments that remain after flame or water cremation.
Why Water Cremation?
Decisions regarding final disposition are deeply personal. Reasons for choosing Water Cremation (instead of burial or flame cremation) might include:
For more FAQ -- please visit this site from CANA (the Cremation Association of North America).
Also known as Alkaline Hydrolysis or Aquamation, Water Cremation is a gentle, flameless cremation process that uses water instead of fire. This is not a new technology - the first patent for alkaline hydrolysis was issued in 1888. It mimics natural decomposition processes: in nature, bodies buried in the earth are degraded by AH expedited by soil bacteria; food in the small intestine is digested to usable nutrients by AH, expedited by enzymes.
What does the process entail?
A combination of warm, flowing water and alkalinity (sodium and potassium salts) are used to accelerate the natural process of decomposition (tissue hydrolysis). The machine operates at atmospheric pressure and the temperature of the water does not exceed 208° F. Water Cremation reduces a body to bone fragments, like flame cremation. Bone fragments are processed in a cremulator, producing cremains. Families can choose to keep the cremains in an urn, or to bury or scatter them.
What's in the water at the end of the cremation process?
Not your pet's remains. Like flame cremation, fat and tissues are converted to basic organic compounds. In flame cremation these compounds are released into the air. In water cremation, these compounds are dissolved in water.
Can my animal be cremated with their collar, blanket, or favorite toy?
Unfortunately, no. The alkaline hydrolysis process which breaks down animal tissues has little-to-no effect on other materials. If it's important that a sentimental item remain with your animal, we can create a special altar area on top of the cremation chamber to keep it close by.
What happens to the leftover water?
Once the Water Cremation is complete, the leftover water (the "effluent") is a sterile solution of mostly (95%) water with dissolved amino acids, sugars, and salts (the natural byproducts of decomposition). The effluent is too dilute to have any reasonable application as a fertilizer. We return it to the ecosystem through land application, using it to hydrate plants and gardens, or in composting.
I don't think I want ashes back. Is that ok?
Of course that's ok. If you don't want ashes back, we will scatter them in a beautiful place.
I want to have a fancier urn. Do you provide those?
Not yet. You can buy urns directly from local funeral homes or from countless places online (including Amazon). Some things to keep in mind:
- Sizing -- urns come in many sizes. Those intended for human remains will be comically large for the cremains of a gerbil, for example.
- Consider urn alternatives -- "temple jars" and "ginger jars" make lovely urns. Almost any lidded container can be used as an urn. We've had good luck with the store at Turnagain Ceramics!
- Materials -- ceramic, wood, metal, resin, glass. Aesthetics are obviously important and can only be decided by you.
- Ecological considerations -- the renewability of the material, distance to transport it, and working conditions of the artisan (if applicable) are all elements to consider.
- Will you be scattering, burying, or displaying the ashes? There are special urns made for scattering ashes (called "scattering tubes"). For burying ashes, you may prefer something readily biodegradable. If the urn will be displayed prominently in your home, you might prioritize aesthetics over other features.
Why do you put the word 'ashes' in quotation marks? What are cremains?
These are both terms to refer to the organic fragments of bone that remain after cremation, though "ashes" only makes intuitive sense for flame cremation. In both flame and water cremation these remaining bone fragments are pulverized using a cremulator until they are a homogenous consistency resembling coarse sand. Cremains is a more accurate term for the pulverized bone fragments that remain after flame or water cremation.
Why Water Cremation?
Decisions regarding final disposition are deeply personal. Reasons for choosing Water Cremation (instead of burial or flame cremation) might include:
- preference for a process that does not use fire
- decreased environmental impact
- receiving 20-30% more cremains than flame cremation
For more FAQ -- please visit this site from CANA (the Cremation Association of North America).
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An excerpt from this article from the Smithsonian has a great explanation of water cremation:
"During alkaline hydrolysis, a human body is sealed in a long, stainless-steel chamber, while a heated solution of 95 percent water and 5 percent sodium hydroxide passes over and around it. In low-temperature alkaline hydrolysis, the solution reaches a temperature just below boiling, the process is performed at atmospheric pressure, and the body is reduced over the course of 14 to 16 hours... The process dissolves the bonds in the body’s tissues and eventually yields a sterile, liquid combination of amino acids, peptides, salts, sugars and soaps, which is disposed of down the drain at the alkaline hydrolysis facility" (or land-applied to fertilize and nourish the earth). "The body’s bones are then ground to a fine powder and returned to the deceased person’s survivors, just as the bones that remain after flame cremation are returned to families as ash." |
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