Q. I read that the process is Alkaline Hydrolysis in
a vessel.Is that correct?
A. Yes a No....The Resomation process is very specific and while it does use Alkaline Hydrolysis as the main
chemical driver it has many design and recipe aspects that make it work every time without any problems. Resomation Ltd has
been working on the process changes for one and a half years and we have learned what works and what does not.
Just using Alkaline hydrolysis in a pressurised chamber at high temperature may work for animals but often not 100%
for human remains and leave a clean white ash. The small patented applied process design additions make a big difference.
Q. I read in an article that stated this was a "boiling "
process . Is that correct?
A. NO. A couple
of newspapers have wrongly coined
the phrase "boiling" the body when it comes to Resomation. It is not and this is actually misleading the public unintentionally!
It is
clearly a chemical hydrolysis process (with added alkali ) at high temperature (170C/350F) with the body fully immersed
in water. The water is needed since it is a hydrolysis (water added) process requiring water and the high temperature is needed
to transfer the heat required to speed up the reaction time many fold over that found in nature. Boiling on the other hand
is a phase change where water is turned to steam above the liquids boiling point . With Resomation the system is under high
pressure and boiling does not occur. The body tissues are rapidly (within 30 minutes) "resolved" into liquid and back to their
original organic building blocks leaving the bone shadows. It is a very efficient speeded up version of natural decomposition
and the liquid can later be applied on horticultural land if desired. It is certainly less violent, destructive of the bodies
organic building blocks, air contaminating and energy consuming than cremation.Consider it BiocremationTM as it turns the body to ash without
using flames.
So the message is …this is not boiling but
a water based chemical process at high temperature and is effectively a speeded up version of natural hydrolytic decomposition
of human remains.
If you think about it the human body is made up of 2/3 water so in cremation the water is evaporated off as steam.
That is true boiling.
Q. You mentioned in a couple of articles that you will use "Coffin Covers"
to carry the silk coffin. What exactly is that?
A . We believe this is a great idea on its own right. There is a company in England that produces Coffin covers
in which currently recycled cardboard coffins are contained. Coffin Covers are really re-useable expensive looking wooden
coffins with folding down ends. It reduces the amount of wood burned but the loved ones at the funeral still see their relative
transported all the way through in a very ornate wooden casket. However this casket is only an outer shell and when the body
is taken to the cremator the end of the coffin cover comes down and the actual sealed solid cardboard coffin is slid out and
cremated with the body inside. The coffin cover is used many times. It is an ecofriendly and inexpensive way to get the benefit
of an expensive coffin for display purposes but without burning it or removing the body.
With Resomation we essentially do the same but with a specially designed silk coffin. Silk is a protein so it resolves
rapidly in the Resomator process.
Q. Will the Resomation ceremony process be any different
from a cremation and where will it be held?
A. We expect that most Resomators will initially be located within Crematoria
or Funeral Homes alongside cremators. However occaisionally and I expect progressively they would be on their own in similar
facilities.
The method of transport to the Crematoria would be identical as would the serivice/ceremony.
Up until the coffin cover dissappears from public view in the Crematoria chapel, nothing is different. Essentially RESOMATORS
ARE ALTERNATE TYPE bIo-CREMATORS.
Q. Will it cost more than cremation?
A. Resomation Ltd does not control the charges by Crematoria or funeral homes and
these costs will vary depending on many variables and by country. On average I expect it will be similar .
Q. You state that medical implants such as
titanium joints are recovered in pristine "as new" condition. Can they be re-used since they are very expensive?
A. In principle they could certainly be re-uesd after a further
packaging and sterilisation process being applied. However we do not know the required legislation to achieve this. One
excellent suggestion was to collect such items ,size them, repackage and re-sterilise them and send them to third world countries
as a charitable gesture. This sounds excellent to us and we are going to investigate this option. The cost of such implants
are generally out of reach of third world country medicine and this could allow much needed surgical procedures to be
carried out to improve the quality of life for many deserving individuals.
Q. How can
I get my relatives or indeed my own body Resomated when they or I exit this life?
A. The process needs to be legalised by country and state and the public (you) need to write to your funeral
homes/Crematoria and local poiticians to have it so and for your funeral homes / Crematoria to invest in one. The earth demands
it. However I suspect the funeral homes/Crematoria are rapidly seeing the need and I know some are already visionary or "green"
enough and are already pushing for it. Change takes effort but you are likely to see installations within the next twelve
months in several countries. You might be lucky!
Q. Does it matter how large the body is regarding fitting
into the Resomator and does the process take longer with larger bodies?
A. Like with cremation there are limts to the maximum size of the body. However the standard Resomator can
accomodate up to a 350lb (160kg) body but we can manufacture larger units to deal with any size.
Regarding process time the larger bodies take a little longer but it is insignificant.
In cremation for instance very thin bodies lacking in fat possibly due to illness take much longer to burn
than fatter bodies. This is because the body fat is needed as an accelerant fuel for the burning process.
Q. You use a chemical in the process to mix with water.How safe is it to use?
A. That is correct. We use around 15 litres on average of the chemical and around 350litres of water with
an average size body.The chemical is a liquid form of Potassium Hydroxide (potash lye) and for sure you have to take some
precautions when handling it. However the chemical is supplied and stored in a special chemical container and is
automatically and safely pumped into the Resomator through high quality stainless steel piping. The user does not need to
come into contact with it.This type of chemical and container is very commonly used in a myriad of industries without any
health and safety issues. We all use various chemicals at home that also require safe handling
During the process the chemical is mostly used up and by the time it exits the Resomator it is normally around
1,000 times less alkaline than at the beginning of the process.
Q. Is the process as fast as cremation?
A. It depends how you look at it. The cycle time at the moment is around 3 hours but we know we can achieve
around 1.5-2 hours by some simple process additions. However you can use it immediately first thing in the morning without
having to be heated up as with cremators. Also at the end of the day you can run a cycle overnight without the operator in
attendance unlike cremation since it is a safe process. Additionally very lean bodies can take longer to cremate than
resomate due to lack of fat as fuel.
Also you can if you want fit two resomators in the space of one cremator. That excludes the need for Mecury
abatement filtration equipment which occupies a large space additionally.
Lastly I would say that with all the clear environmental benefits over cremation should speed be the prime
reason for using cremation. It is like a fast 4 x 4 large ,polluting and expensive to run vehicle versus a more energy
efficient smaller car. Still some people always make unqualified excuses to stick with what they know. Ignorance is bliss
to some.
