What is alkaline hydrolysis?

The body is placed in a pressurized or atmospheric vessel with a solution of water and potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide, then gently heated for several hours. What remains is a sterile liquid and softened bone. The process is sometimes marketed under the trade names aquamation, water cremation, bio-cremation, or resomation, but the underlying method is the same.

Supporters describe it as a lower-energy alternative to flame cremation with no direct combustion emissions and no mercury released from dental fillings. Its legal status varies widely: only some US states authorize it for human remains, and a number of states still prohibit or have not yet regulated it, so availability depends on where you live and changes over time.

The family receives processed bone remains comparable in volume to flame cremation — typically a slightly larger amount, because the bone is whiter and more complete. They can be kept, buried, scattered, or placed in an urn or niche, subject to the same state and local rules that govern any cremated remains.

Because it is offered at far fewer facilities than flame cremation, families often travel or use a provider that transports the body to a licensed facility in another county or state. Ask the funeral home for an itemized price list — a right the FTC Funeral Rule guarantees — so you can compare it against flame cremation directly.