We don't deal all that much with death on Ecogeek, but sometimes something comes along that captures our attention, interest and - of course - our morbid fascination. A way of processing corpses called resomation is one of those things. Veterinarians have been using a similar process for years now, but us humans are now finally getting in on the action.
Within a tank called a resomator, the body is immersed in a 1:21 solution of potash lye and water. Gas-powered steam generators build up pressure within the tank as the temperature rises up to around 170 degrees celcius. Thanks to the pressure (and despite what the general news media would have you think) there is no boiling, only a chemical reaction that completely liquefies everything but the bone ash in our bodies. When the tank is opened, only the bone ash and any implants or prosthetics the person had remain.
Sounds pretty gruesome, eh? It kind of reminds me of that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. You know the one. That thing gave me nightmares as a kid. Why even do it, you may ask? Well, this is where our interest in this technology comes in. Through talks with Sandy Sullivan, the founder and MD of Resomation Ltd, I've found out that an average cycle in this tank of three hours will consume around 90 kWh, while a cremation will consume 250 kWh. According to Mr Sullivan, the total carbon footprint of a resomation is 18 times less than that of a cremation. Additionally, resomation is a 100% mercury-free process, something neither regular burial nor cremation can boast.
When the body has been fully liquefied, it has been separated into two main parts. The first is a bio-fluid that is basically a collection of all our building blocks: Salts, sugars, peptides, and amino acids. The nutrients in this liquid are still entirely intact and can be returned to the soil to help our plants grow. The second is basically a "shadow" of your bones called bone ash, pure calcium phosphate. This can be used in horticulture, ceramics, and even as a raising agent! In other words, getting resomated allows you to fully return your body to the Earth without worrying about adding a bunch of unwanted stuff to the soil at the same time.
Like I said, any implants or prosthetics the person may have had are also left behind, and are in fact in pristine condition. With further sterilisation and repackaging, expensive prosthetics can be put back into use. While what to do with these "leftovers" is still an open question, the folk at Resomation Ltd have considered donating them to third-world countries where such prosthetics would otherwise be completely unattainable.
So far, the process is only available in the United States, where more than 2,000 resomations have been performed so far, but the Glasgow-based company is only a year old, and Sullivan tells me that they are close to having the process specified as legal in the United Kingdom (bureaucracy at work!). Many local authorities in the UK are having trouble taking care of their dead, what with the FBCA's regulations on mercury emissions. Additionally, several green groups are championing this tech all around the world.
Don't worry, you can still have a dignified ceremony that doesn't differ much from cremation. The body is placed in a quite ordinary coffin that is lined with a silk bag that seals to become an enclosed silk coffin within the resomator. After the cycle, the soft bone ash can easily be powdered and put in an urn like you would after a cremation, with the added bonus that every single bit of ash is the body of the departed, not a mixture of whatever was in the furnace with the body. I can even think of a few additions to the lowering of the ashes that would make the ceremony all the more meaningful, like fertilising the earth that surrounds our dearly departed's ashes with a vial containing their own bodily remains. One life gone, new life welcomed.
Myself, I've always had different plans for my burial, and it just so happens that this process fits my plans perfectly! I have been assured by mr Sullivan that if I were so inclined, I could preserve the structure of the bones rather than powdering them. I would have my skull reinforced and then filled with soil (fertilised with my own bio-gunk). In that soil, I'd have them plant a seed for what would grow up to become a huge tree bearing fruit! A hundred years later, the neighbourhood kids would still be scared witless of that tree, where a crazy old fool was buried (Alive, the rumors say!) and then a tree grew out of his eyesocket! The ghost tree would be the stuff of legends, I say! Legends!
... Until someone cuts it down to build a Starbucks there, of course.
If you want to read more about the technology and the process, I suggest you check Resomation Ltd's official website or this very easy-to-read and accurate description of the process of resomation at Cremate Me.net. Personally, even if I can't have my elaborate plan set in motion, I'm sold on resomation.
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written by h, April 09, 2008
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written by Magnus H., April 09, 2008
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written by Robbert, April 09, 2008
The first is a bio-fluid that is basically a collection of all our building blocks: Salts, sugars, peptides and amino acids. The nutrients in this liquid are still entirely intact and can be returned to the soil to help our plants grow.
Soilent Green anyone?
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written by Karsten, April 09, 2008
Natural burial is rare because there aren't many places where you can do it. I am still looking for some folks (say 100) to pay $1000 to participate in purchasing land in Northern New England and receive you own acre (or 1/4 acre, depending) and get buried naturally. Non-religious, just a natural marker (such as a tree) and coordinates of where your body lays.
Anyone interested in discussing this further?
Karsten
--
http://www.polluteless.com
Practical Advice To Pollute Less (even after you are dead)
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written by Magnus H., April 09, 2008
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written by Shanmin, April 09, 2008
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written by ljd, April 09, 2008
We could be the worst sort of polluters and not give a sh%$, if there were only say 1% of our present population.
If we maintain our quality of life, then for every time the world's population doubles, we'd have to reduce everyone's carbon footprint in half to just stay steady.
*I'm not advocating dying.*
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written by mcpuddin, April 09, 2008
With that said.. there's only one thing to say after resomating someone.. CHEERS
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written by Leisureguy, April 09, 2008
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written by Magnus H., April 09, 2008
Heheh, you're absolutely right. I didn't write that headline, though.
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written by RegalPlatypus, April 09, 2008
After that though, hopefully I can have my ashes scattered at a green cemetery. Maybe a lil' tree planted.
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written by kballs, April 09, 2008
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written by Pierre, April 10, 2008
Perhaps it can be trialled first by the pet food manufacturers, and then perhaps in some third world countries.
Great idea.
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written by john, April 10, 2008
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written by Magnus H., April 10, 2008
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written by Tim, April 10, 2008
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written by Benny, April 10, 2008
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written by Zale Colins, April 13, 2008
Any possibility there is a contact in Canada.
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written by berliner, April 13, 2008
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written by frisbee, April 14, 2008
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written by Dagny McKinley, April 14, 2008
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written by Valerie Dawnstar, April 17, 2008
Anyone heard of "green burials?" That's where you get buried - in a biodegradable casket or cloth bag, your choice - & just placed in the ground in a "green cemetery." They are legal as long as certain requirements are met. There is one in Ithaca, NY (of course) but the concept started with an MD actually in South Carolina. It puts the caring back in the hands of the family/friends. I like it for that reason but I am intrigued by this resomation.
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written by Magnus H., April 19, 2008
Lindsey: It would cost about the same as a cremation, or at least should. It used less energy and is a cleaner process, so it could even cost less in time.
Zale: I'm pretty sure there's no contact in Canada yet, but you're free to send the folks at Resomation an e-mail and they could probably help you with it.
Frisbee: No, any medicine and other toxins will be broken down entirely by the process. There is nothing left but the sludge, which is entirely sterile, and the bone ash.
Dagny: Thanks. ^_^
Valerie: I'm also of the impression that people's "respect" for the dead is largely misjudged and misdirected. If you want to respect ME when I'm dead, I'd like to be consumed in some form, for example by the Earth so I could help the world grow. Resomation is a step in that direction, especially considering that it basically does what any other burial would do, only quicker and cleaner. I like the idea of something growing from where my remains lay, and since I'm impatient in life, why not let resomation get things growing straight away once I'm dead? ^_^
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written by frisbee, April 19, 2008
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written by Ms Maya, April 22, 2008
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written by Veriria, June 01, 2008
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written by just a guy, February 24, 2010
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written by CycledLife, April 20, 2010
www.CycledLife.com has finally solved this problem with a patent pending system that will allow water and alkali systems to be commercially viable.
Given this process that benefits, not harms the living, why would anyone want their body to be burned or buried?
The problem with just a guy's reference to the use of exposure, the norm over 300,000 years ago, for the final disposition of a body is that the birds, vultures in the Middle East, who eat the flesh are dying from ingesting pathogens contained in the deceased. This method is no longer sustainable.
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written by Nelson Hay, January 25, 2011
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