The corpse-dissolving technology being considered by the government would still allow families the chance to spread their loved ones’ ashes, the man behind the technology told Times of Malta.

Scientist Joe Wilson said the technology he had created dissolved all the body tissue but left bones, which were then ground and given to families as ashes.

“This technology offers a great solution and has been widely taken up. It’s real simple, you could even do it on your stove,” he said.

The large stainless steel tank used in the alkaline hydrolysis process will set you back €800,000 and is fully automated.

Corpses are wrapped in silk and submerged in a solution of water and potassium hydroxide, which is then pressurised and heated to 180˚C.

Three hours later, the body tissue is fully dissolved, leaving behind a skeleton.

Mr Wilson said a single tank can process up to four bodies per day and has been widely accepted across the US. In fact, the technology is used in at least 10 states, many of which use the liquefied body tissue as fertiliser.

The large stainless steel tank used in alkaline hydrolysis (above) was commercialised by US scientist Joe Wilson (left).

Fertiliser is not the only green benefit. Proponents of the technology boast that it produces a third less greenhouse gases than cremation.

Vaporised mercury created in crematoria accounts for more than 15 per cent of airborne mercury in the UK where some 70 per cent of funerals are done through incineration.

Mr Wilson said body tissue in alkaline hydrolysis is normally turned into a “thick ammonium coffee”; all liquefied tissue, however, is processed at municipal sewage plants.

Mr Wilson said this posed no environmental hazard as the liquid was completely sterile and contained no DNA.

Developed in 1997, Mr Wilson said he had first intended the equipment to be used to dispose of animal carcasses but later realised its potential for human funerals and it was introduced as an alternative in 2011.

Last month Mr Wilson installed a system at the largest hospital in Florida while another set up at the University of Texas dissolves around 1,200 bodies every year.

The process is the same as what occurs during a burial at sea, but much quicker.

“If you were to leave a body in water the same thing would happen. This technology just speeds up the process so that it takes around three hours,” he said.