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Context: The body of Nobel Peace Prize winning Anglican archbishop and anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu underwent aquamation.

What is aquamation?

• It is a green alternative to traditional cremation methods.
• This “flameless cremation” is considered to be an environmentally friendly way to dispose of a body, the process is also known as water cremation, green cremation or chemical cremation.
• In this alkaline hydrolysis process, body of the deceased is immersed for a few hours in a mixture of water and a strong alkali in a pressurized metal cylinder and heated to around 150 degree centigrade.
• The combination of gentle water flow, temperature and alkalinity accentuate the breakdown of the organic materials.
• The process leaves behind bone fragments and a neutral liquid called

Environmental importance:

• This process is a greener alternative as it uses significantly less fuel and has an overall lower carbon footprint than cremation.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-desmond-tutu-aquamation-green-alternative-cremation-7704534/

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