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Aquamation, or water cremation
Aquamation dissolves the body in heated water and alkali rather than burning it. The family receives ashes at the end, as with flame cremation, and there is usually more of them. It is legal in roughly half of US states and typically costs a little more.
- Also called water cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, resomation, or flameless cremation. All the same process.
- Uses water, potassium or sodium hydroxide, heat and pressure over several hours.
- The family gets back cremated remains, usually 20 to 30 percent more than flame cremation produces, and whiter.
- Legal in about half of US states, and the list keeps growing. Check your own state before planning around it.
- Typically costs a few hundred dollars more than flame cremation, because far fewer providers own the equipment.
What actually happens
The body is placed in a stainless steel vessel with a solution of water and a strong alkali, then heated under pressure for somewhere between three and sixteen hours depending on the equipment and the temperature used. Soft tissue breaks down into a sterile liquid. The bone is left behind, dried, and processed into a fine white powder, which is what the family receives.
It is the same end result as flame cremation reached by a different route. What comes back is bone, in both cases. The difference is that flame cremation burns everything else away and aquamation dissolves it.
What it costs
A direct aquamation typically runs somewhere around $2,000 to $3,500, against a national average of $2,202 for a direct flame cremation and $6,280 for a cremation with a full service. The gap is about availability rather than the process being expensive to run: the equipment costs a funeral home a great deal to install and very few have installed it, so the ones that have can price accordingly.
That gap should narrow as more providers adopt it. In states where several funeral homes offer it, the price is already close to flame cremation.
Full cremation cost breakdown · How direct cremation works
Where it is legal
Roughly half the states permit it for human remains, and more legalise it most years. Because the list changes, the reliable answer is to ring a funeral home in your own state and ask whether they offer it, rather than to rely on any list published online, this one included.
Where it is not permitted for humans it is frequently still used for pets, which is why many people first hear the word from a veterinary practice.
Why people choose it
- Energy use. It uses substantially less energy than flame cremation and produces no direct combustion emissions, which is the reason most often given.
- No mercury release. Flame cremation vaporises dental amalgam. Aquamation does not.
- More remains returned. Families are frequently surprised by how much more comes back, and it is whiter than flame cremated ash.
- It feels gentler to some people. That is not a technical argument and it is a perfectly good reason.
The honest case against
- Availability. Very few providers have the equipment, so it may mean transporting the body a long way, which is charged by the mile.
- Cost. Usually more than flame cremation today, for availability reasons rather than anything intrinsic.
- Religious objection. Some traditions that permit cremation have not formed a position on aquamation, and others object to both. Ask rather than assume.
- The liquid. The sterile effluent goes to the wastewater system, which some families find they mind and others do not. It is worth knowing in advance rather than afterwards.
Whatever you choose, the bill still arrives
Direct aquamation, direct cremation or a full burial, the family pays within days. The calculator works out the real number for your state, and separates the funeral home charges from the cemetery charges.
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Common questions
What is aquamation?
A cremation process that uses heated water and alkali instead of flame to reduce a body to bone, which is then processed into ashes and returned to the family. It is also called water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis.
How much does aquamation cost?
Typically around $2,000 to $3,500 for a direct aquamation, against a national average of $2,202 for a direct flame cremation. The difference is mostly scarcity, since very few funeral homes own the equipment.
Is aquamation legal in my state?
It is legal in roughly half of US states and more legalise it each year. Ring a funeral home in your state and ask directly, because published lists go out of date quickly.
Do you get ashes back from water cremation?
Yes, and usually 20 to 30 percent more than flame cremation returns, because none of the bone is lost to combustion. The ashes are noticeably whiter.
Is aquamation better for the environment than cremation?
It uses considerably less energy, produces no direct combustion emissions and releases no mercury from dental fillings. It does use water and it discharges a sterile liquid to the wastewater system.