An ecological funeral, also known as promession, is a method for allowing the body of the deceased to decompose in an environmentally-friendly way. It was invented and patented in 1999 by the Swedish biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak. With regard to living things, a body is the integral physical material of an individual. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ... Decomposition is the reduction of bodies and other formerly living organisms into simpler forms of matter; and most particularly to the fate of the body, after death. ... In politics and other non-technical contexts, nature or (the) (natural) environment often refers to that part of the natural world that people deem important or valuable, for any reason — economic, aesthetic, philosophical, hedonistic, sentimental, etc. ... In music, an invention is a short composition with two or three part counterpoint. ... A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a patentee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ...

The following three steps characterize the method:

1. Reducing the body of the deceased to a fine powder, thereby allowing later decomposition to be aerobic. This is achieved by submerging the body in liquid nitrogen, which makes the remains so brittle that it shatters as the result of a slight vibration. The remains are then dried, reducing them to around 30% of the original body weight.
2. Removal and recycling of metals.
3. Burying the powder shallowly in a biodegradable casket.

The first facilities for ecological funerals, known as Promators, should be ready in 2008 in Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, South Korea and South Africa. Powder is a substance that has been crushed into very fine grains. ... “Spoilage” redirects here. ... This article or section should include material from aerobic respiration. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds between metal atoms. ... Biodegradation is the decomposition of material by microorganisms. ... An open coffin A coffin is a box used for the display and burial or cremation of a dead human body. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The volume of remains left by this procedure is about three times that left by a cremation, but the claimed advantages include the avoidance of the release of pollutants into the atmosphere, such as mercury vapour from dental fillings, and the rapid degradation of the remains after the procedure (6-12 months). The procedure meets the requirements of new European Union pollution laws. The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 200. ...

The terms promession and Promator have no describing meaning, but are artificial terms.

See also

• Natural burial
• Sky burial

Natural burial grounds are also known as a woodland cemetery, an eco-cemetery, a memorial nature preserve, or a green burial ground. ... Sky burial is a ritual practice common in Tibet that involves placing the body of the deceased in a high ground (mountain) and expose it ritually, especially to birds of prey. ...

External links

• Promessa, the Swedish company developing the method
• Description in Article
• A chilling way to say the final farewell, The Times, 13 October 2005, reporting an investigation into the process by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council.
• Forest of Memories, information and resources on eco-cemeteries and natural burial.