Promession
{{Short description|Method of corpse disposal}}
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Promession is an idea of how to dispose human remains by way of freeze drying. The concept of promession was developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, who derived the name from the Italian word for "promise" (promessa).{{cite news|last=Holst|first=Karen|title=Swedish green-burial firm to turn frozen corpses in compost|url=http://www.thelocal.se/33178/20110413/|access-date=26 September 2012|date=13 April 2011}} She founded Promessa Organic AB in 1997 to commercially pursue her idea.{{cite news|last=McNally|first=Patrick|title=Promession: A Return to the Living Soil|url=http://www.dailyundertaker.com/2008/09/promession-return-to-living-soil.html|access-date=26 September 2012|newspaper=Daily Undertaker|date=30 September 2008}} The company went bankrupt in 2015 without being able to produce a functioning facility.{{Cite news|url=http://www.bohuslaningen.se/nyheter/orust/promessa-slutligen-i-konkurs-1.925619|title=Promessa slutligen i konkurs|work=Bohusläningen|access-date=12 September 2018|language=sv}} The idea of promession is questioned and not a functional method according to critics.{{Cite news|url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1637&artikel=3818201|title=Ekologisk begravning - Studio Ett|last=Kron|first=Andreas|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=30 June 2010 |language=sv|access-date=12 September 2018}}
Process
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The idea of promession involves five steps:
- Coffin separation: the body is placed into the chamber
- Cryogenic freezing: liquid nitrogen at −196 °C crystallizes the body
- Vibration: the body is disintegrated into particles within minutes
- Freeze drying: particles are freeze dried in a drying chamber, leaving approximately 30% of the original weight
- Metal separation: any metals (e.g., tooth amalgam, artificial hips, etc.) are removed, either by magnetism or by sieving. The dry powder is placed in a biodegradable casket which is interred in the top layers of soil, where aerobic bacteria decompose the remains into humus in as little as 6–12 months.
Criticism
Promession as a functional method is questioned. No facility for promession has been built or put into service. Critics argue that there is a physical{{Cite book|title=Hej då! : begravningsboken|author=Möller, Lotte|date=2011|publisher=Arena|isbn=9789178433612|location=Malmö|oclc=760982426}} impossibility to atomize a freeze dried human body in this way.{{Cite news |url=http://www.ostran.se/nyheter/kalmar/promession_fungerar_inte |title=- Promession fungerar inte / Kalmar / NYHETER / ÖSTRAN / Östra Smålan… |date=25 May 2012 |work= |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525113929/http://www.ostran.se/nyheter/kalmar/promession_fungerar_inte |archive-date=25 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}
Current status
See also
References
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