The body of Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is to be reduced to dust by aquamation, a new cremation method using water that funerary parlours are touting as environmentally friendly.

Like human composting, a technique of composting bodies with layers of organic material like leaves or wood chips, aquamation is still authorised only in certain countries.

In South Africa, where Tutu died last Sunday, no legislation at all governs the practice.

Aquamation, or "alkaline hydrolysis", consists of cremation by water rather than fire.

The body of the deceased is immersed for three to four hours in a mixture of water and a strong alkali like potassium hydroxide in a pressurised metal cylinder and heated to around 150 degrees Celsius.

The process liquifies everything except for the bones, which are then dried in an oven and reduced to white dust, placed in an urn and handed to relatives.

First developed in the early 1990s as a way to discard the bodies of animals used in experiments, the method was then used to dispose of cows during the mad cow disease epidemic, US-based researcher Philip R. Olson says.

In the 2000s US medical schools used aquamation to dispose of donated human cadavers, before the practice made its way into the funeral industry, he wrote in a 2014 paper.

Tutu, who died on Boxing Day aged 90, was known for his modest lifestyle. He left instructions that his funeral ceremony should be simple and without frills.

The anti-apartheid hero, whose funeral was held Saturday, specifically asked for a cheap coffin and an eco-friendly cremation.

With burial space in urban areas worldwide becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, aquamation has obvious attractions.

Its advocates say water is a gentler way to go than flames.

They also claim a liquid cremation consumes less energy than a conventional one, and emits less greenhouse gases.

According to UK-based firm Resomation, aquamation uses five times less energy than fire, and reduces a funeral's emissions of greenhouse gases by around 35 percent.

Aquamation is also used to dispose of animal carcasses in slaughterhouses, where it is considered to be more efficient and hygienic.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Guinea's deposed leader authorised to leave country
Conakry (AFP) Dec 31, 2021
Guinea's ex-president Alpha Conde, who has been detained since his ouster in a September coup, obtained authorisation Friday to leave the West African country for a month. A government statement read out on national television said that, in consultation with the regional bloc ECOWAS, "former President Alpha Conde is authorised to go abroad for a period of one month for consultations". The nature of the consultations was not given and no departure date specified. The release of the 83-year-o ... read more