What is Promession and How Does it Work?
promession process. Photo © Promessa.
Since time immemorial, human beings have buried their dead in the ground. Archeological evidence also indicates that people have cremated their loved ones since at least 11,500 years ago — and probably long before that.
A relatively new concept of body disposition called “promession” (pronounced pro-mesh-ion), developed by Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak (seen in the photograph above), offers some distinct “green” advantages over both of these methods in today’s increasingly eco-conscious environment. Theoretically, promession could become a significant body-disposition option in the future if the process gains acceptance and is implemented.
How Does Promession Work?
Using specially engineered equipment, the deceased human body is sprayed with liquid nitrogen to cryogenically freeze the remains to a temperature of approximately minus 196° Celsius (minus 320.8° Fahrenheit), which crystallizes the body’s cells.
After cryogenic freezing, the body is then mechanically vibrated for several minutes. This causes the frozen cells to disintegrate and reduces the cadaver to crystallized body particles, which are then collected for the next promession phase — freeze-drying.
Placed inside of a vacuum chamber, the water within the crystallized body particles is then removed through a process called sublimation. This freeze-drying procedure reduces the weight of the remaining body particles to approximately 30% of the deceased’s original weight. A human body originally weighing 70 kilograms (154.3 pounds), for example, will result in approximately 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of body particles.
Next, any metals are removed from the dry body particles. These metals might include mercury and dental amalgam (once commonly used in dental fillings), metals from surgical implants, sodium and more than 50 other “foreign substances.”
Finally, the remaining body particles are placed in a biodegradable container, made from corn or potato starch, which is then sealed. This container, while not technically a casket or coffin, serves the same function once it’s buried in the ground but is engineered to enhance/control the interaction of the remains with air, water and microorganisms in order to facilitate the natural decomposition process.
The Benefits of Promession
Compared to burial or cremation — the two most-common forms of body disposition — promession theoretically offers several advantages in terms of ecological impact. Cremating a body relies on natural or propane gas to reduce a human body to bones through combustion. This results in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that can contribute to greenhouse gases, as well as the potential release of mercury vapor due to the amalgam dentists once commonly used to fill cavities in human teeth. Promession, conversely, would result in no such harmful emissions.
In addition, unlike traditional ground burial, the promession process would reduce the demand on land-space. Burying promession-remains in the ground at the suggested depth of 30 to 50 centimeters (approximately 12 to 20 inches) would require significantly less burial space than that of a traditional casketed burial.
Moreover, the remains resulting from promession are completely organic and, including the biodegradable container, would not introduce chemicals, metals, concrete or other types of potentially harmful substances into the ground, resulting in a significantly smaller carbon footprint than that associated with traditional earth burial in a cemetery or memorial park. In fact, Wiigh-Mäsak estimates that promession remains will turn into humus (soil) in approximately six to 18 months as part of the natural environmental cycle.
The Obstacles to Promession
Presently, the promession process remains unavailable as a viable form of final body disposition. Despite widespread media reports about promession and its potential eco-friendly benefits, it still remains in a theoretical/testing phase and is unavailable to consumers.
On the website of Wiigh-Mäsak’s company, Promessa, you can express your interest/show your support for the promession process. As of September 01, 2020, more than 4,790 people have done so worldwide.
Related Information:
Sources:
“Promession: Introduction of Method,” September 14, 2010. Promessa. Retrieved December 15, 2017. http://www.promessa.se/about-life-death
