Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed
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).<ref name=holst>Template:Cite news</ref> She founded Promessa Organic AB in 1997 to commercially pursue her idea.<ref name=undertaker>Template:Cite news</ref> The company went bankrupt in 2015 without being able to produce a functioning facility.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The idea of promession is questioned and not a functional method according to critics.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>
ProcessEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} 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.
CriticismEdit
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>Template:Cite book</ref> impossibility to atomize a freeze dried human body in this way.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Current statusEdit
Promessa Organic AB was liquidated in 2015 without being able to produce a functioning module or facility.<ref name=":0" />