The body of Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, who died aged 90 on December 26, was reduced to ash by aquamation, a new cremation method that combines water and high temperatures and presents itself as an ecological alternative to traditional burials.
Like the technique of composting bodies with layers of leaves and wood, or burial by liquid nitrogen, aquamation is a funerary method that is only allowed in a few countries. In South Africa, the practice evolves within a certain legislative vacuum.
With the scientific name of “alkaline hydrolysis”, the method consists of cremation by water rather than fire. The remains of the deceased are placed in a large metal cylinder and then dipped in liquid, a mixture of water and alkaline substances.
The liquid is heated to around 150°C, while the cylinder is subjected to pressure, a process that allows for rapid dissolution of body tissues.
After a few hours, the tissues (fat, blood, skin, muscle) “completely liquefy, leaving only the bones,” explains funeral.info. The bones are then reduced to white ash, which is placed in an urn and given to family members. In the case of Monsignor Desmond Tutu, the ashes were deposited in a columbarium.
From a symbolic point of view, water is considered softer than fire, and evokes the end of a life initiated in a liquid element. In addition, the defenders of the method emphasize, above all, the ecological benefit, as it consumes less energy than burning by combustion and emits less greenhouse gases.
According to the UK-based company Resomation, water consumes five times less energy than fire.
The method is the same used in the disposal of animal waste in slaughterhouses, considered effective from a sanitary point of view.
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