Cremation, burial, maybe even feeding off to vultures – the ways of disposing off dead are many. Add to this list alkaline hydrolysis; a process that is unlikely to gain acceptance form the religious authorities, or general populace, anytime soon. That is quite understandable when you go into the details of the process. Alkaline Hydrolysis involves dissolution of bodies in lye and employs 300 degree of heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch of the corpse. All this is accomplished in a homely stainless steel pressure cooker for humans. That kept in mind, it is easy to see why till now the method has only been employed to get rid of animal carcasses and cadavers. This method of getting rid of corpses is so ghastly that only two US states (Minnesota and in New Hampshire) have made it legal.
However, proponents of dissolving bodies in lye believe that some day the method will rival burial and cremation. Considering the advantages that the process offers over the two age-old practices, everyone would hope so. For one, unlike cremation, the method causes very little pollution and causes practically no emissions.
It rivals burial too since it involves no using up of space in large cemeteries; an obvious advantage in the day of skyrocketing land prices. The only remains that alkaline hydrolysis produces are a coffee colored liquid that can be flushed down the drain and a dry bone residue similar in appearance and volume to cremated remains. Both, are clearly, way easy to deal with than say corpses that lay underground, seeping into the water table. Whew!
It seems that this method is far more environment friendly than either burying or cremating the dead. Moral considerations have to be kept out of the equation for the time being. Personally I don’t care if I’m stewed up (Alkaline hydrolysis) or roasted (cremation) after I’m dead but people have different concerns. If only our kindness were restricted to the living only (no disrespect meant) we’d have a great solution for our funerals quite literally.
