Editing Promession

{{Short description|Method of corpse disposal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2018}}

'''Promession''' is an idea of how to dispose [[Disposal of human corpses|human remains]] by way of [[freeze drying]]. The concept of promession was developed by [[Sweden|Swedish]]  [[biologist]] Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, who derived the name from the [[Italian language|Italian]] word for "promise" (''promessa'').<ref name=holst>{{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}}</ref>  She founded Promessa Organic&nbsp;AB in 1997 to commercially pursue her idea.<ref name=undertaker>{{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}}</ref> The company went bankrupt in 2015 without being able to produce a functioning facility.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref> The idea of promession is questioned and not a functional method according to critics.<ref name=":1">{{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}}</ref>

==Process==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2018}}
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.,&nbsp;tooth [[Amalgam (dentistry)|amalgam]], [[Hip replacement|artificial hip]]s, etc.) are removed, either by magnetism or by [[Sieve|sieving]]. The dry powder is placed in a [[Biodegradation|biodegradable]] casket which is interred in the top [[Soil horizon|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<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hej då! : begravningsboken|author=Möller, Lotte|date=2011|publisher=Arena|isbn=9789178433612|location=Malmö|oclc=760982426}}</ref> impossibility to atomize a freeze dried human body in this way.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Current status==
Promessa Organic AB was liquidated in 2015 without being able to produce a functioning module or facility.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
* [[Alkaline hydrolysis (death custom)]]
* [[Natural burial]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.promessa.se Promessa website]

{{Death}}

[[Category:Death customs]]
[[Category:Biodegradable waste management]]
[[Category:1997 introductions]]
[[Category:Italian words and phrases]]