Science

Dissolving dead bodies in WATER could save hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide


Dissolving dead bodies in WATER rather than cremating them could save hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, expert claims

  • Around 78 per cent of the UK opting to be cremated over a traditional burial 
  • ‘Water cremation’ could be used to cut end-of-life emissions by 90 per cent
  • Millions of tons of carbon emissions are released through cremation each year

People should opt for a ‘water cremation’ if they want to choose an environmentally friendly option says burial expert – as traditional cremations are revealed to emit millions of tons of carbon every year.

A lesser known end-of-life process, the ‘water cremation’ or alkaline hydrolysis, could be used to cut carbon emissions produced by cremations worldwide by around 90 per cent, claims Nora Menkin, director of the People’s Memorial Association in Seattle, U.S.

Traditional cremation has long been sold as a less environmentally harmful alternative to traditional burial – burying formaldehyde filled bodies in the earth on top of concrete – however the cremation process still emits around two car fuel tanks full of emissions each time, reports National Geographic.

Zero carbon emissions from the body are released in the process of ‘water cremation’ or aquamation – however some remains are given to the family to keep or scatter

With around 78 per cent of the UK opting to be cremated over a traditional burial this adds up to around 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide being released per year.  

Traditional cremations are also an increasingly popular option in the U.S., overtaking burials over the last four years – emitting around 354,300 imperial tons of carbon emissions each year.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF DEALING WITH THE DEAD 

Promession, or cryomation – Involves using liquid nitrogen to chill the body to -196c, leaving it so brittle that it can be ‘fragmented’ on a vibrating mat. A magnet then removes metal objects such as fillings and artificial limbs, leaving a sterile powder – giving a whole new meaning to ‘dust to dust’.

Resomation – Sees bodies placed in silk bags and submerged in an alkaline solution that has been heated to 160c. Flesh, organs and bones all dissolve under the onslaught, leaving behind a combination of green-brown fluid and white powder.

Ashes turned into diamonds  – This technique utilises the fact that both human beings and diamonds are carbon-based. A body is cremated and the resulting ash is then purified at 3,000C before being further heated and pressurised into a diamond over a 16-week period.

Ms Menkin believes the surge in people choosing the end-of-life option is partly due to a rising trend for environmental concern, but adds that the environmental emissions from cremation are still significant.

Speaking to the National Geographic Ms Menkin, who helps people choose end-of-life options, said: ‘[Alkaline hydrolysis] has about a tenth of the carbon footprint of conventional cremation.

‘While the process does take a similar amount of time, it doesn’t have to heat that much, and it’s the water that’s doing most of the work.’ 

The process of water cremation also known as aquamation can be used to dissolve the body and uses heat, pressure, water and chemicals like lye to reduce remains.

Alkaline hydrolysis essentially liquidises most of the flesh and body but leaves the bones in a white phosphorus form that crumbles to the touch.

As with flame cremation, the remnants are put into a cremulator, which refines the final remains into an ash-like substance.

Those remains are given to the family to keep or scatter while the waste water from the process is disposed of into the sewage system or used to fertilise plants – it is legal in the U.K and 20 states in the U.S. 

Zero carbon emissions from the body are released in the process. 

Ms Menkin told the publication: ‘Some facilities capture the liquid, and it’s taken away and it’s used on some farmland; it’s an excellent fertiliser.’ 

Alternatively the traditional 75-minute cremation ‘takes up about the same amount of energy and has the same emissions as about two tanks of gas in an average car. So, it’s not nothing’, said Ms Menkin.  

Some U.S. and UK crematoriums have taken steps to reduce their emissions through installing filtering systems, however these are only able to neutralise pollutants such as mercury from dental fillings and can not reduce carbon emissions.

Ms Menkin believes the surge in people choosing traditional cremation as their end-of-life option is partly due to a rising trend for environmental concern

Ms Menkin believes the surge in people choosing traditional cremation as their end-of-life option is partly due to a rising trend for environmental concern 

In May this year Washington became the first U.S. state to approve composting as an alternative to burying or cremating human remains.

It allows licensed facilities to offer ‘natural organic reduction,’ which turns a body, mixed with substances such as wood chips and straw, into about two wheelbarrows worth of soil in a span of several weeks.

Loved ones are allowed to keep the soil to spread, just as they might spread the ashes of someone who has been cremated – or even use it to plant vegetables or a tree.

Alternative less environmentally friendly methods for dealing with the dead that are now offered include turning a loved ones ashes into a diamond or vinyl record.

HOW THE UNITED NATIONS IS CONTROLLING CREMATION EMISSIONS: 

Speed: A body is taken down to the Ganges on a bier, wrapped in an orange shroud. It should be burnt in 24 hours of death

Speed: A body is taken down to the Ganges on a bier, wrapped in an orange shroud. It should be burnt in 24 hours of death

Funeral pyres, the traditional method which usually includes the burning of a body on top of a pile of felled trees, could be responsible for more pollutants as the process is much longer. 

The practice is usually carried out in India as a Hindu tradition involving an open-air pyre near running water and requires millions of trees to be cut down every year.

A United Nations project, the Mokshda Green Cremation System, has been running since 1992 in an effort to help control pollution in this way by implementing a more fuel-efficient option. 

Choices: Wealthier families may choose to use the much more expensive sandalwood instead of the cheaper mango wood, while the poorest  may just use cow dung, and some simply throw the body directly into the river

Choices: Wealthier families may choose to use the much more expensive sandalwood instead of the cheaper mango wood, while the poorest may just use cow dung, and some simply throw the body directly into the river

With the use of a metal tray heated with firewood, cremations now take less time and 75 per cent less fuel than a traditional pyre – 45 cremations can be carried out a day on each pyre structure, with around 50 of these structures available in India.

The pyres reduce the amount of wood needed from 880 to 1100 pounds to 220 to 330 pounds, reports The National Geographic.

Over 150,000 cremations have been carried out on the Mokshda project’s pyres which is estimated to have saved around 480,000 trees and 59,000 tons of carbon emissions, according to officials.  



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