I don’t really perceive this to be an environmentally-friendly alternative to cremation but it is whispered to be the funeral wave of the future. Most of us can relate it to some scene out of a grossly sick horror movie! Moving over the routine practices of burying, burning or dumping in well, its time to bid adieu to this world in the most preposterous manner. It’s the process of alkaline hydrolysis and here’s how it works. A 300°F solution lye (sodium hydroxide) is sprayed on a body at 60 pounds of pressure per square inch in stainless steel cylinders. This actually turns the dead body in to brown syrup with some bone residue. OMG, this isn’t really my style of leaving this world. If you are keen on reading more about this horrifying (solid to liquid state) kinda funeral then roll over to know more…..
The base hydrolyzes the tissues, leaving a syrupy brown liquid and some bone residue. The bone residue can be collected and dried similar to the collection of cremated remains.
As of yet this method hasn’t been commercially applied to human bodies but there are two medical centers using the equipment for research cadavers (University of Florida in Gainesville and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN). Mayo Clinic actually uses it on human medical waste and animals.
Anybody Dead?
