Water cremation will become available in the UK later this year, providing a more environmentally-friendly option than fire.
It's also been termed the "boil in the bag" method, but Durham University's Douglas Davies told Breakfast: "I rather dislike that phrase if I'm absolutely honest about it. I think it's rather disrespectful to those who will choose this option in the future."
The practice is already legal in Canada, South Africa and parts of the US.
South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-apartheid work, famously opted for the method.
Davies explained the process.
"A human body is placed into a container, a machine really, a finely engineered piece of equipment, which is filled then with water and with a little alkaline within it, it's heated and placed under pressure," he said.
"Over a period of time, four hours plus, the human body is reduced to its skeletal remains.
"Which are then taken out — rather as a pure white skeleton really — with the bones very, very fragile."
The bones are then reduced to powder and given to the relatives of the deceased.
The process has a number of other names, including aquamation and resomation.
Asked whether water cremation would grow in popularity, Davies said: "My guess is yes.
"I've done lots of research on different forms of funerals.
"I think people with an environmental lifestyle would opt for resomation as their death style."
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