WO2024155230A1

WO2024155230A1 - Apparatus and method for preparing organic tissue for enabling an aerobic decomposition

Info

Publication number: WO2024155230A1
Application number: PCT/SE2024/050046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter MÄSAK
Original assignee: P Organic AB
Current assignee: P Organic AB
Priority date: 2023-01-19
Filing date: 2024-01-19
Publication date: 2024-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 2025-07-19
Also published as: EP4648902A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus (1) and a method for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same, for enabling and optimizing an aerobic decomposition of the product, i.e. fragmented organic tissue.

Description

Apparatus and method for preparing organic tissue for enabling an aerobic decomposition

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue.

BACKGROUND ART

Today's standard of burial or the prior recomposition of organic tissue, such as human or animal remains, only offers the options of rotting/putrefaction or burning after boiling. Aerobic mulching/aerobic decay is the biological degradation method that nature strives for. Rotting as a putrefaction process, which is generally unwanted, kicks in when the environmental factors are not optimal, e.g. lack of oxygen, too wet, too hot, lack of aerobic decomposers (as they need access to air/oxygen). A whole body always starts to putrefy (from the inside), as soon as the lungs stop inhaling air and the heart stops beating. It is due to missing success factors for an aerobic decomposition, such as a lack of oxygen inside the body and the body's large water content (60 - 70%).

However, with a freezing temperature of minus 18 °C (and preferably vacuum), the biological decomposition processes can be prevented for a while, which thus "preserves the tissue" and thus does not require any toxic "embalming fluids" (usually a 5% red coloured solution of formalin/formaldehyde before traditional burial or cremation).

Requirements differ between countries or even within different parts of a country. In Norway, a few decades ago, tight plastic bags were used to prevent leakage from the decay process in cemeteries into the groundwater. Now this has stopped, as awareness has caught up with the drawbacks of burying in plastic bags.

In Sweden today, new cemeteries are required to be built in such a way as to lower the groundwater level, and to drain out and take care of the leachate so that it does not reach the groundwater. The leachate is instead transported with the sewer network to a sewage treatment plant, all together a very expensive procedure. Cremation as an alternative way to treat a human or animal body before burial requires a large input of energy, as the body's water content (60-70%) must be boiled away for the corpse to catch fire. This initially leads to a poor combustion process, which also generates toxic compounds and a lot of CO2. This also places demand on huge and expensive filter systems to achieve sufficient filter efficiency.

Further developments such as Resomation/Aquamation or Recompose/natural organic reduction (NOR) are recent methods that have been shown to have significant drawbacks.

There is thus a need for improvement in the way organic tissue should be prepared for burial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and a method for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue that seeks to mitigate, alleviate, or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages singly or in any combination, either environmentally, climate wise or ethically.

This object is obtained by an apparatus for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue, wherein the apparatus comprises:

- a vertically extending frame on which an upper plate arrangement and a lower plate arrangement is arranged,

- wherein the upper plate arrangement comprises an upper vibrating platform comprising an upper vibrator, wherein the upper vibrating platform is arranged to move in a vertical direction towards the lower plate arrangement, wherein the upper vibrator is arranged to vibrate the upper plate arrangement with a first frequency,

- the upper plate arrangement further comprising a V-shaped plate attached to the upper vibrating platform and comprising two wings arranged facing away from each other sloping downwards being joined together to form a V-shape,

- wherein the lower plate arrangement is arranged on a lower vibrating platform comprising a lower vibrator arranged to vibrate the lower plate arrangement with a second frequency, - the lower plate arrangement further comprising a first lower plate and a second lower plate arranged facing towards each other sloping downwards with a separation between lower ends of the first lower plate and the second lower plate,

- wherein the first and second upper plates and the first and second lower plates comprise protrusions,

- wherein the apparatus is arranged to receive cryogenically frozen organic tissue between the upper plate arrangement and the lower plate arrangement and wherein the upper plate arrangement is arranged to secure the cryogenically frozen organic tissue between the upper plate arrangement and the lower plate arrangement by moving towards the lower plate arrangement to secure,

- wherein the upper plate arrangement is arranged to vibrate with an amplitude of between approximately 0-10 mm with the first frequency of between approximately 5-10 Hz and the lower plate arrangement is arranged to vibrate with the second frequency of between approximately 600-800 Hz with an amplitude of approximately 0 - 20 mm,

- wherein the impacts between the protrusions and the cryogenically frozen organic tissue caused by the vibrations of the upper and lower plate arrangements causes fragmentation of the cryogenically frozen organic tissue.

The invention aims to provide an apparatus that is able to fragment organic tissue in an ethically defensible way even if the organic tissue is a human or animal body. The short time needed and avoiding salient and obvious violence during the fragmentation are success factors for this technology. Organic tissue may also include plants. However, other industrial applications may by extension include existing technical applications that need some adjustments and/or modifications to be optimized for the purpose.

It is known that the prerequisite for enabling organic tissue (from the plant or animal kingdom) to moulder or decompose/bio-disintegrate/decay/biodegrade (integrate into soil, and form humus-rich soil) is that it is finely divided. Definition of mouldering means biologically broken down with the help of the earth's fauna (aerobic microbes, mycelium and also fully visible invertebrates). Humus is fine organic material in the soil, which in different phases of decomposition gives the soil its rich character: it makes the soil mellow with the help of numerous bio-degraders, dark in colour and is a depot for nutrients. Naturally, these decomposers are found in a healthy and living soil, which they themselves generate, mainly in the surface layer where vital air is available, so that an oxygenated (aerobic) decomposition is favoured. This avoids putrefaction/rot, which is a smelly oxygen-free process (anaerobic), which generates toxic gases. For more background see for instance www.vaderstad.com/se/know- how/grunderna-i-agronomi/grundlaggande-fakta-om-jord/jordens-byggstenar and PhD Cathrine Jones, "Carbon that counts": www.amazingcarbon.com.

The aerobic method of bio-degradation of human tissue, with the registered name Promession®, requires body tissue in small fragments, to meet the soil, and thus needs a burial in the aerobic/oxygenated top soil. This invention provides an apparatus that uses vibrations on frozen organic tissue that evoke, among other things, cracking in the tissue structure to provide small fragments. Through vibrations, physical stress factors are induced (e.g. fatigue in the tissue). This, combined with the design of the equipment and technical applications allows one to achieve a desired result without resorting to other more violent methods for producing small fragments, considered as the "technical height" of this apparatus.

The resulting fragments are dried and freed from solid metals and is suitable for either burial in top soil or for cremation. If buried in top soil, it has been shown that the fragments moulder within a time span of a couple of months to up to three years, depending on the climate zone and season, meaning that it is very suitable for family graves. When cremating the fragments, the dryness of the fragments lead to that much less energy is required, as only an initial ignition is needed, which leads to a reduced climate impact and a much faster burning progress.

Thus, the fragments can be used for an organic burial or be used as a precursor to a more efficient, quicker, cleaner and fossil free cremation, thus climate smarter.

The apparatus is suitable for fragmenting all organic material, including restaurant food waste, organic household waste and organic hospital waste. This means that less organic material needs to be burned or deposited at landfills, leading to reduced environmental and climate impacts. Once fragmented and dried, the waste can be stored indefinitely and be used in various applications such as fertilizers.

The upper plate arrangement may be provided with a liquid nitrogen spray/sprinkling cooling arrangement. This can be used to provide additional cooling to avoid thawing of fragments, and that pieces of the organic tissue heat up and lose their brittleness. At temperatures above cryogenic temperature (higher than -100 °C), the tissue instead tends to deform, and crackles and/or does not fragment as willingly when the tissue is exposed to the physical stress-impacts that the vibrations of the plates generate.

The lower vibrator platform may be connected to an electro-mechanical vibrator and the upper vibrating platform may be connected a hydraulic reciprocating piston. In this way, a good control of the vibrations for the respective vibrator platforms can be achieved.

The protrusions extend over a width of the first and second upper plates and the first and second lower plates and have a triangular cross section or a semi-circular cross section. In this way, improved impulses can be achieved for even better fragmentation of the organic tissue.

The protrusions may have a centre-to-centre distance of between 40-60 mm and a height of ca 15-25 mm. Tests have shown that these dimensions provide a suitable design for fragmentation of the organic tissue.

The upper plate arrangement may be attached to a hydraulic piston. This is in order to make the upper plates perform resistance to the vibrations from the lower plates and to keep a body in place in the apparatus during the fragmentation. The upper plate arrangement may press on the body using a hydraulic piston that will create resistance to each vibration/hit from the lower plate arrangement.

The apparatus may contain a collecting unit arranged underneath the lower plate arrangement for collecting the resulting fragments from the cryogenically frozen organic tissue. In this way, the apparatus is a single unit for fragmentation and collecting. Alternatively, a collecting unit separate from the apparatus can be used.

The apparatus may contain a drying unit for drying the collected fragments from the cryogenically frozen human, animal or part of the same. The drying unit determines to some extent the optimal size of the fragments, both to limit the drying time as well as to limit the energy consumption. Decay is favoured by small fragments (0.1 - 5 mm). Different existing and proven drying techniques can be used, (but provide different conditions for a subsequent effective and complete metal separation). Here follow some examples of well-known and proven technologies: for example, hot air, microwaves, freeze drying, the vortex technique, absorbent, or any of these in combination. This object is further obtained by a method for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue, wherein the method comprises:

- cryogenically freezing the deceased human, the deceased animal, the plant or a part of the same in liquid nitrogen,

- arranging the organic tissue in an apparatus according to the above description,

- exposing the organic tissue to vibrations with an amplitude of between approximately 0-10 mm at a first frequency of between approximately 5-10 Hz and a second frequency of between approximately 600-800 Hz, thereby causing fragmentation of the organic tissue,

- collecting the resulting organic tissue fragments from the impacts between the protrusions and the cryogenically frozen organic tissue caused by the vibrations of the upper and lower plate arrangements in a collecting unit,

- drying the fragments to a dryness of between approximately 3-5 %.

The method may further comprise

- exposing, by the upper plate, the tissue momentarily to a counter pressure of 1 - 8 tons before the upper plate rises up for a new fragmentation cycle.

The advantages are the same as for the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of the example embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the example embodiments.

Figure 1 schematically shows a first view of an apparatus according to the invention,

Figure 2 schematically shows a second view of an apparatus according to the invention,

Figure 3 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention,

Figure 4 schematically show an overview of the Promator®.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. The apparatus disclosed herein can, however, be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the aspects set forth herein. Like numbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects of the disclosure only, and is not intended to limit the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In principle, this invention describes an apparatus and a method that makes it possible for organic matter such as deceased humans, deceased animals and/or plants taking advantage of "Nature's free services", i.e. moulding (biological aerobic degradation). With animals are for instance meant pets, livestock and other animals that are suitable to fragment. For livestock, the technique can be used to prepare livestock for cremation in the event of a disease outbreak that requires the destruction of parts or of the whole livestock. As an example, prions are only contagious by direct contact and can be destroyed at temperatures above 1200 °C. In light of this, the apparatus and method are suitable for dealing with fragmenting bodies in preparation for destruction if it is suspected that livestock has been diseased.

The fact that we today collect organic "waste" in order to make it undergo a putrefaction process on a large scale produces methane gas (CH4). Through combustion of the produced methane gas it is possible to provide energy, but at the same time this emits CO2, meaning that we have a negative climate impact. The same reasoning applies to the production of ethanol from for example forest waste, for mixing in fossil fuels, which only leads to greater CO2 emissions from the vehicle fleet, as the efficiency deteriorates, which at the same time leads to increased fuel consumption (this can't be economically or environmentally justified as that makes bio-fuel be more expensive in Sweden at a gas station, even if the pricing seems less expensive).

Within the context of the application, cryogenically frozen means frozen to a temperature below - 170 °C. Figure 1 schematically shows a first view of an apparatus 1 according to the invention. All parts are not necessarily to scale. All constructional details are not shown, only the main parts used to obtain the function of the apparatus are described in detail.

The apparatus 1 comprises a vertically extending frame 2 made of metal and securely fastened to the ground or to a movable platform. On the frame an upper plate arrangement 3 and a lower plate arrangement 4 is arranged. In figure 1, the frame 2 comprises a pair of vertical beams 2a arranged in one example with a transversal distance D of approximately 500 - 2500 mm between them such that the length of a cryogenically frozen body can fit therebetween. The distance can be adapted depending on if humans, animals or plants are to be fragmented by the apparatus. The total height is in one example approximately 750 - 2500 mm depending on if humans, animals or plants are to be fragmented by the apparatus.

Between the vertical beams 2a, the upper plate arrangement 3 is movably arranged onto the vertical beams 2a. The upper plate arrangement 3 can move upwards and downwards relative to the lower plate arrangement 4 in order to be able to open up a space 5 between the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4 to insert cryogenically frozen organic tissue. A vertical distance between the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4 forming the space in one example is approximately 300 - 1000 mm depending on if humans, animals or plants are to be fragmented by the apparatus.

The upper plate arrangement 3 is attached to a hydraulic piston (not shown) in order for the upper plate arrangement 3 to be able to exert pressure on the cryogenically frozen organic tissue to ensure that it stays in place between the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4 and such that the desired vibrational force is exerted on the organic tissue, while the upper plate arrangement 3 causes a counter resistance to the vibrations from the lower plate arrangement 4 in order to control the impacts exerted on the cryogenically frozen organic tissue.

Hydraulic components, such as pressure regulated valves and cyclic amplitude regulation can make the entire vibration be generated without a supervising operator, thus being automatized.

The upper plate arrangement 3 comprises an upper vibrating platform 6 comprising an upper vibrator arrangement 7. The upper vibrator arrangement 7 is arranged to vibrate the upper plate arrangement 3 with a first frequency f_l. The upper plate arrangement 3, extending transversally between the vertical beams 2a, comprises a V-shaped plate 8 comprising two wings 8a attached below the upper vibrating platform 6. The two wings 8a are arranged facing away from each other and sloping downwards and are joined together to form a V-shape as seen from a side of the apparatus 1. In one example, the upper vibrator arrangement 7 is a hydraulic reciprocating piston connected to a hydraulic system, whereas the upward motion of the piston starts as soon as the piston reaches a pre-set pressure force, and as the amplitude reaches the 10 - 15 mm this cycle is repeated over and over again, i.e. the piston is again required to reach a pre-set pressure force before the upward motion of the piston starts again.

An angle a between the two wings 8a forming the V-shaped plate 8 is between approximately 90° and 150°. In some embodiments, the angle a is adjustable, but must be coordinated, meaning that upper and lower plates must be uniform in size and design.

The lower plate arrangement 4 also extends transversally between the vertical beams 2a and comprises a first lower plate 9 and a second lower plate 10 arranged facing towards each other sloping downwards with a separation S (i.e. a gap or a slit) between lower ends 9a, 10a of the first lower plate 9 and the second lower plate 10.

The upper plate arrangement 3 is designed such that it fits within the lower plate arrangement 4 if lowered completely, but the upper plate arrangement 3 will never be able to bottom out against the lower plate arrangement 4.

The separation S between the lower ends 9a, 10a of the first lower plate 9 and the second lower plate 10 is in one example between approximately 10 and 100 mm depending on how small fragments are needed and/or desired. For instance, a separation of ca 10 - 20 mm will lead to fragments weighing ca 100 - 150 grams, but depending on drying technology a smaller separation may be preferable.

The dimensions of the apparatus 1 in the example can be adapted if larger or smaller humans, animals or plants are to be fragmented. For instance, large livestock may require a larger apparatus 1.

The lower plate arrangement 4 is arranged on a lower vibrating platform 11 comprising a lower vibrator arrangement 12 arranged to vibrate the lower plate arrangement 4 with a second frequency f_2. The lower vibrator arrangement 12 is in one example an electro-mechanical vibrator similar to ones found in ground vibrators or a hopper vibrator. Hydraulic vibrators can also be possible.

The lower plate arrangement 4 is arranged to rest in a bottom position once the pressure from the upper plate arrangement 3 exceeds a pressure corresponding to about 2 tons.

In figure 1, the upper plate arrangement 3 is in its open state. In this state, the apparatus 1 is arranged to receive cryogenically frozen organic tissue which is placed onto the lower plate arrangement 4. The upper plate arrangement 3 is thereafter lowered such that the lower plate arrangement 4 and the upper plate arrangement 3 secures the cryogenically frozen organic tissue in place between the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4.

In order to obtain fragmentation of the organic tissue, the wings 8a of the V-shaped plate 8 and the first and second lower plates 9, 10 comprise protrusions 13 or grooves extending vertically relative to the apparatus 1. The organic tissue is placed in the apparatus 1 such that a length direction of the organic tissue is perpendicular to the vertical extension of the protrusions 13. The protrusions 13 (or grooves) have a transversal (relative to the apparatus 1) centre-to-centre distance of between approximately 40-60 mm and a height from the base of the plates of approximately 15-25 mm. Other types of grooves are also possible. Notable is that the first cracks during fragmentation go transversely, in parallel to the grooves. Ultimately, the separation S determines the final size of the fragments.

The grooves may be arranged on the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4 such that the protrusions on the upper plate arrangement 3 are transversally offset from the protrusions of the lower plate arrangement 4. Le., a protrusion on the upper plate arrangement 3 will fit between two protrusions of the lower plate arrangement 4 and vice versa.

The V-shaped plate 8 and the first and second lower plates 9, 10 have a width, i.e., in a transversal direction, in one example of approximately 350 - 2000 mm and a length in one example of about 250 - 1000 mm. The final sizes of the plates are adapted depending on if humans, animals or plants are to be fragmented by the apparatus. The plates are made of a suitable metal or ceramic composite. Further, the upper plate arrangement 3 and the lower plate arrangement 4 are arranged to vibrate with an amplitude of between approximately 0-10 mm at a first frequency of between approximately 5-10 Hz and a second frequency of between approximately 600-800 Hz. The impacts between the protrusions 13 and the cryogenically frozen organic tissue causes fragmentation of the cryogenically frozen organic tissue. The fragments thereafter fall into an opening 14 created by the separation S between the first lower plate 9 and the second lower plate 10 into a collecting unit (not shown).

The collected fragments are thereafter dried to a desired dryness of between approximately 3- 5 % for further burial or cremation.

The apparatus 1 thus provides a means for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue, once buried in the top soil. The aerobic decomposition can be optimized if following the disclosure of WO 2007/053078 Al from the same applicant.

Figure 2 schematically shows a second view of an apparatus 1 according to the invention. In figure 2, the lower vibrator arrangement 12 can be seen as well as the separation S between the lower ends 9a, 10 of the first lower plate 9 and the second lower plate 10.

The apparatus 1 will when fully assembled be covered by an openable outer cladding in order to contain and conceal the process taking place in the apparatus 1.

The following is a description of a procedure and the requirements for optimal fragmentation of an average sized human body, which may be shrouded in silk fabric.

Freezing the body in liquid nitrogen (LIN). This preferably takes place in a well-insulated vessel, where the body, which has already been frozen in a mechanical freezer to -18 °C, is now "shock frozen" to cryogenic temperature by being immersed in LIN, (-196 °C at normal atmospheric pressure). It takes about 2 litres of LIN/kg body weight to obtain the desired cryogenic freezing of the entire body, and it takes 1 - 2 hours depending on the size of the body (10-80 kg).

The gas (N?(g)) which is formed when LIN boils, can be channelled to other steps/modules in a technical equipment, the Promator® (as conceptually described in the patent "Method and device for treating organic matter, EP 1234151B1" and in figure 4 below), where there is a need for cooling or where cooling is beneficial (e.g. cooling the body in the first freezing stage, or cooling the ashes for further processing). One such example is that the upper plate arrangement 3 and/or the lower plate arrangement 4 may be provided with a liquid nitrogen spray/sprinkling cooling arrangement to cool the V-shaped plate 8 of the upper plate arrangement 3 and possibly also the first lower plate 9 and second lower plate 10 of the lower plate arrangement 4, all to avoid that organic tissue sticks to the surfaces of the plates.

It is very important that the body is completely cryogenically frozen, preferably at least minus 150 - 170 C right into the middle, to achieve the desired brittleness.

The plate arrangements and fragments are suitably sprayed with LIN before and during the process, i.e. is cooled before and during the process, all to avoid fragments sticking to the plates, and that pieces of tissue in the meantime heat up and then lose their brittleness. At temperatures above cryogenic temperature (higher than -100 C), the tissue instead tends to deform, and crackles and/or does not fragment as willingly when the tissue is exposed to the below-mentioned physical stress-impact that the vibrations of the plates generate.

The freezing procedure (shock freezing) facilitates the subsequent fragmentation, when the tissue reaches cryogenic temperature from the outside in, with the consequence that the organic tissue tends to exfoliate when it is moved into the apparatus 1 and in cyclic courses is repeatedly affected by both vibration, repetitive shock, repeated impulses, stresses, fatigue, cracking and pressure waves through compressions. The different types of impact caused by the apparatus 1 have different effects, depending on the size of the fragments, thus depending where in the fragmentation cycle we are.

An essential aspect of this procedure is that it is so fast, as the time factor is an important element in the process of taking care of human remains. As a fog develops during fracturing due to that water droplets released during the decomposition process freezes and turns into an icy mist, body parts that have not yet been fragmented to unidentifiable size cannot be seen and identified, providing an additional ethical aspect of importance.

Certain effects affect at the same time and/or involve a synergistic effect, depending on where in the cyclic process we are in terms of time, because the fragments become progressively smaller (an important observation/knowledgel), and the whole process turns out to be completed within a couple minutes, which is why a gradual transition to the most effective physical "stressors" follows the process to its completion.

While the vibrations are causing fragments to bounce, move and squirm/rotate, the upper and lower plate will hit new tissue surfaces as a new cycle causes the upper plate to distance itself from the dust and the lower plates to again impact the fragile tissue with some of the effects mentioned above (it happens several times/sec): repetitive shock, resistance, compression and "straight central impact" (according to Newton's 3rd law) for some time depending on the size of the organic tissue. For normal sized bodies, approximately 1 - 5 minutes are generally sufficient, but a longer time may be required for complete fragmentation to occur.

The vibrations of the lower plates 9, 10 generate impacts exerting a force of between 30 and 50 kN (equivalent to approximately 3 to 5 metric tons). The V-shaped plate 8 generates resistance to the impacts from the lower plates 9, 10 hydraulically in each cycle, with pulses/pressures of the equivalent of between 1 and 6 metric tons, before the piston turns and repeats this cycle, thereby managing to create cracking in bodies of up to 80 kg but it is possible to have adapt the apparatus 1 can be adapted to fragment bodies of greater weight if necessary, such as for instance more than 150 kg by increasing the dimensions of the apparatus 1. Depending on what the weight/length ratio of the body looks like, even heavier bodies can be fragmented with the apparatus 1 and method of the disclosure.

Bodies weighing between 30 kg and 80 kg initially require impulses of the counter-hold on pressure (or counterweight) above 10 - 15 tons, but the shape of the body is initially more important. The weight/length ratio (kg/m) of a body also takes on importance (the ratio should preferably be between 10 and 50 kg/m to achieve the desired effect), and the apparatus 1 must have measurements that are correlated to the objects (bodies) that is intended to be taken care of, i.e. the length of the plates and the stroke length of the hydraulic piston to also be able to handle "overweight bodies". While the vibrations cause fragments to be pushed away, moved, and twisted or rotated, the grooves of the plates will hit new tissue surfaces as a new cycle causes the upper plate to distance itself from the dust and the lower plates to again affect the fragile tissue with the aforementioned vibrations, causing repetitive shock, impulse and response to resistance that create pressure waves and compression, several times per second. The vibrations of the lower plates, which are certainly energetic (30- 50 kN), have an amplitude of 0 - 20 mm (zero when the resistance temporarily causes the vibration, which is transmitted via levers, to become impulses because the vibration generator then encounters great resistance), while the frequency can remain between approximately 600 and 800 hertz.

It should be noted that the location of the vibrator arrangements at different distances from the pivot point can affect the torque (leverage), just as the vibrator arrangements' own weight has an effect on the impulse effect that is generated. The vibrator arrangements' weight should not be less than the weight of the whole body that is intended to be fractional (frequency & amplitude constant according to above).

The body may be wrapped in cloth, such as silk, before being cryogenically frozen, as this will also fragment during the process.

Figure 3 shows a flow chart of a method 300 for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue according to the invention. In step 302, the organic tissue is cryogenically frozen in liquid nitrogen. In step 304, the organic tissue is placed in an apparatus 1 according to the description of figures 1 and 2. In step 306, the organic tissue is exposed to vibrations with an amplitude of between 0-10 mm at a first frequency of between 5-10 Hz and a second frequency of between 600-800 Hz, thereby causing fragmentation of the organic tissue. In step 308, the resulting organic tissue fragments are collected in a collecting unit. In step 310, the fragments are dried to a dryness of between approximately 3-5 %.

Further advantages with the invention are that handling of the deceased and burial is a global concern. The problems are accentuated in densely populated areas/metros, which is why land use, costs and time for grave peace have become issues that have favoured cremation, despite the negative effects on climate and environment, and in spite of climate issues have become a high issue on the political agenda to solve.

It is mainly lack of space and long grave peace that create problems, something that promession® solves. Most burial sites today do not use the top soil layer, and a burial prepared according to the above only needs 3 years (including safety margin) for the dust to be integrated with the soil, and then the burial site is ready for the next burial (e.g. in a family grave). Spreading the dry organic material (tissue) on top of the ground is not recommended as it could still be looked upon as food for animals. And another issue is avoiding the possibility of contaminating the environment with pathogenic infections, a worry directed towards other methods, but avoided through top soil burial. After three years, a little of the decayed dust (i.e. the soil) can be placed in an urn and preserved in a on a shelf or in a booth in a columbarium, whereby the burial site is again available while the grieving parties still have a place to go (which is important). If a perennial plant is planted on the burial site, CO2 continues to be bound in the photosynthesis and also favours stable carbon storage in the soil.

The time between death and care also becomes more flexible, as freezing to -18 C and/or the fragmented and dry dust leaves time for coming steps. It also gives the funeral director more options in the exercise of his business, something that was stated as an advantage by representatives of the Church of Sweden. An Episcopal letter from the Swedish Church has given clear expression that this ecological burial, i.e. promession® ought to be sanctioned. Environmental and climate issues are increasingly taking centre stage, and cremation cannot be seen as a satisfactory solution for the increasing number of environmentally and climateconscious citizens, especially not if one has tried to live an environmentally conscious and ecologically defensible life, only to end it with big CO2 emissions and many other shortcomings, e.g. high energy demand and dependence on fossil fuels (in most countries).

The method according to the invention is a carbon trap, and provides a contribution to new life in the soil and a better climate, why "a symbolic plant" benefited from the decomposed tissue, becomes a symbol of life moving on, although in a different form. "Appealing" is the most common spontaneous comment from people who come to know about Promession®.

Toxic emissions are avoided, i.a. because metals (such as mercury/amalgam) have been sorted out in its solid form, see the European "Zero mercury policy paper", report from 2005 where Promession is described in the European recommendation for "Zero mercury" in the chapter "Cremation", pages 60-61, (www.zeromercury.org). The Swedish inventor of promession, BA Susanne Wiigh Masak is also mentioned in this paper.

The method can also be used to produce organic fertilizers, as the lack of artificial fertilizers has become an issue because of the war in Ukraine. Japan is on the right track for recycling organic material, and contribute to the carbon sequestration - thus implementation of Promession®, i.e. the method according to the invention, should be the most logical step to decrease the cremation rate in Japan, that exceeds 99% today. All that Promessa is trying to explain in regards to organic material, and what Promession® is all about, is stated as the most obvious path for solving climate changes, and simultaneously giving at hand positive spin off effects, as explained in the video in the following article: regenerationinternational. org/2019/07/29/japans- ministry-of-ag-acknowledges-role-of-regenerative-farming-in-climate-solution/.

One example of a technical application to burn the fragments produced by the invention, a compact cremator, has a lot in common with a pellet burner, but unlike traditional cremation, the water in the body's tissue (60 - 70%) does not need to be boiled away, as the drying process is performed in a drying unit in the Promator® or in a drying unit in direct connection to the apparatus. This results in that only dry wood chips mixed with the dried tissue fragments need to be ignited, which now contain more than 60 - 70% carbon. After ignition, the wood chip/fragment mix burns by its own power, and generates an energy surplus of 300 kWh/dust from an average-sized body. (The same amount of energy would be supplied to the soil if opting for burial of the fragments left by the apparatus).

By connecting a heat exchanger to the combustion process in the compact cremator, you can take advantage of the excess heat energy, to use it in other parts of the early stages of the process and simultaneously bring down the energy need/cost, or use the heat for either heating or cooling premises, etcetera.

The compact cremator requires very little energy input (and no fossil energy), and the net effect is an energy surplus, as it burns under its own power and then generates a lot of heat energy that can be recovered.

Further, the climate effect is smaller, as CO2 emissions are less than 50% compared to today's standard cremation ovens. This is due to that the compact cremator requires no additional supply of energy, such as fossil fuels, as in old traditional crematorium oven technology.

The cremation time is approximately one hour to cremate a normal-sized body (whereas standard cremation > two hours).

Cremation in the compact cremator does not lead to reactions that form unwanted toxic chemical compounds such as dioxin. Dioxin is formed at certain temperature ranges, around 200 °C and 420 °C, where the chlorine compounds in the body's tissue (thus 2 - 3% NaCI) and form dioxin. These temperature steps can be quickly passed to even reach today's recommended combustion temperature to disarm prions, 1200 °C.

The fact that traditional cremation remains at these critical temperature ranges is due to the fact that the body's water must be boiled off, before the tissue can catch fire, which keeps the temperature for a long time at an unfavourable level.

Metals are removed before cremation, therefore amalgam (mercury alloy) does not become a flue gas problem as in today's crematoria, which require expensive and space-consuming flue gas facilities to capture mercury (Hg), a technique that is very dubious, and requires complicated storage/processing of it collected Hg.

Prostheses, often in expensive metals (Titanium, steel, or gold fillings) are sorted out before hand and can be recycled.

Flue gas purification in the compact cremator requires very little, both from a site point of view and technical/chemical traps to achieve a result that is below the recommended limit values for flue gases.

The compact cremator is smaller and much cheaper than a traditional crematorium incinerator with flue gas purification plant (which requires 100 m²), and thus requires less space, even if the apparatus (Promator®) is included (requires 50 m²).

A chimney consists of metal pipes and is assembled in a short time. It is cheap to build and maintain, compared to the traditional brick chimneys, which require cleaning/sanitation every few years (re-walling).

No need to grind bone remains in an ash processor (cremulator), as with traditional cremation, which means that personnel are not confronted with the dust, which is a clear advantage from a work environment point of view.

The ashes are collected directly in the urn without staff having to be confronted with the dust.

• A significantly cheaper equipment for a crematorium, which with the technical equipment that fragment, dry and metal separate the dust (in the Promator®/preparator) can thus offer both an ecological burial and a more environmentally friendly alternative for cremation (however, burning coal always leads to CO2 emissions, but not to the same extent from compact cremation). If necessary, an old crematorium incinerator could burn promated dust.

• Note that the Promator® is programmable using a programmable logic controller, programmable ladder controller or similar. To be adapted for dust to be burned, a cassette (which may be forwarded to the compact cremator) is filled in a way that makes clean wood chips be introduced first and last, to "clean" between the individual dust, which is burned as a mix of dry metal-free organic tissue and wood chips, which as well optimizes the combustion process.

The technology could be considered as a best practice, and thus become our next generation for the care of the deceased, all the while the politicians and legislators keeps up to promote the implementation.

Performance specification for the Compact Cremator

Swedish federation of Cemeteries and Crematoria, (SKKF) has expressed "best available technology", (BAT) according to flue gases, stated as the quote: "...when procuring a crematorium plant today, certain guarantees are given by the suppliers on the highest air emissions of carbon monoxide, particles and mercury. These guarantees are the closest thing that can be considered the best possible technology for the reason that today there is no better technology to buy for crematoria."

No extra pre-heating is required for the first deposit when starting cremation in the compact cremator in the morning. Start-up burning of the oven takes place with wood chips/pellets, which start automatically when the dust cassette (i.e. cassette with wood chips and the fragmented organic tissue) is inserted into an individual dust chamber (I DC).

The initial combustion also causes the combustion chamber/combustion to end up above the critical temperature where dioxin is formed, before the dust begins to be fed into the combustion zone.

Afterthe combustion phase of the dust (which has an admixture of wood chips/coffin material), extra wood chips/pellets are fed in to keep the temperature above the critical temperature when dioxin is formed until there is guaranteed no dust left over for burning. The burner includes an automatic insertion device, which is regulated so that no insertion and emptying of the dust cassette is possible before the previous individual burning has been completed.

During continuous operation, the burner starts automatically when an inserted cassette is received. IDC as well as an afterburner chamber (ABC) are equipped with modulating burners, which automatically regulate so that prescribed temperatures are not exceeded. When the process is underway, the temperature is in the range of 600 - 800 °C. The flue gases pass through a flue gas cyclone, where fly ash is separated from the flue gas.

After about 1 hour, the cremation is completed, and everything combustible has turned to ash. The ashes, which are automatically discharged into a dedicated container (urn), cool in the case or the ashes are allowed to cool (could be cooled with LIN) in the ash storage container (ASC) during the start of the next cremation. When emptying the ASC, the ash (< 2 mm) flows directly into the urn, and the operator does not have to be confronted with the dust. The ashes are completely free of scrap (nails and hinges from the coffin as well as surgical details such as hip joints, leg splints, etc.) as they are automatically separated and collected in a separate container in the Promator®.

No ash grinding needs to be carried out, which is why personnel will avoid further confrontation with the dust.

The electricity consumption during operation of the promoter's other processes is calculated as:

- Casket magazine, LM: Moving the coffin 1 kWh

- Separation of body & coffin, and grinding of coffin, CCSM: Chip mill 5 kWh, Other process 1 kWh

- Cryogenic freezing and vibration unit, CVM: Movement of the dust 1 kWh, Cryogenic freezing of dust 40 kWh (production of LIN included), vibrator and hydraulics <1 kWh (key figure for compressed air production: 0,1 kWh/m³) - Drying (depending on method), approx.: 55 kWh (Vortex instead of freeze drying: 350 kWh) Absorbent in itself does not require electricity consumption, Compressed air consumption 15 m³/cremation=1.5 kWh, electricity consumption (dryer and vacuum pump) 60 kWh

- Metal separation and filling: Vibrator, chip feeder, metal separator, magazine 2.5 kWh

- Cooling of the process space: Electricity consumption when cooling to -20°C the cold parts of the promoter 4 kWh

The total electricity consumption per cremation in the compact cremator is estimated to 115kWh - (NOTE that 300 kWh in total is generated), to be compared with traditional cremation: 650 kWh (with the same calculation model).

- Hygiene requirements: Food standard (for Promator)

- MTBF: 350 cremations ("meantime before failure" is standard in the Promator's and the compact cremator's requirements specification, which indicates the recommended service interval). Corresponds to <4 service occasions per year at full utilization.

Electricity is needed to ignite the dust in the compact cremator.

- Maximum time/complete cremation: 1 hour (6 treatments per working day (8 hours), is thus fully possible)

-The combustion temperature is increased rapidly, to pass the critical temperatures around 200 and 420 °C, which thus eliminates dioxin formation.

- Filter installation for particle separation is standard

- The cremation unit is CE marked.

- Automatic cleaning and emptying are possible (no manual handling to fill the urn).

- Traces of organic material in the cremation unit after cleaning: "not visible during ocular inspection" (<0.1g/m2)

- Dimensions of complete cremation unit: 2000 x 2900 x 2800 mm

- Max weight of the device; 2000kg - No brick chimney needed -The compact cremator unit is completely closed and automated, after the "cassette/container" has been applied for input, and the start button has been pressed, therefore it is possible to operate without the operator's participation during the burning.

- Embalming bodies is not necessary, but does not constitute an obstacle.

- The equipment's cover and protective plates are easy to dismantle in order to facilitate access to the equipment's service points.

The above should as well be compared to the following energy consumption examples:

- The guests who witness the funeral ceremony (on average 30 cars driving 20 km): 720 kWh

- The average consumption of energy in an ordinary villa is: 2300 kWh a month

- Flying to Thailand costs per person (3 kWh/per person & km - 8000 km Frankfurt-Bangkok): 48,000 kWh

One example of a burner that is suitable to use as a compact cremator with some modifications is CATfire 500 kW from Cleanburn AB.

Figure 4 schematically show an overview of the Promator® 40. The Promator 40 comprises a number of modules, wherein the apparatus 1 is one. From left to right, the Promator 40 comprises: Loading magazine (LM) 41 for caskets - caskets and dust coffins are loaded with an ID-tag, coffin & corpse separation module (CCSM) 42, fragmentation unit 43 comprising the apparatus 1 (also named the Cryovib module (CVM)), Drying module 44 (DM), Metal separation & filling sealing module (MSFS) 45 - Dust coffins can be seen in a carousel magazine in the module 45.

The description of the example embodiments provided herein have been presented for purposes of illustration. The description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit example embodiments to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various alternatives to the provided embodiments. The examples discussed herein were chosen and described in order to explain the principles and the nature of various example embodiments and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the example embodiments in various manners and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The features of the embodiments described herein may be combined in all possible combinations of methods, apparatus, modules, systems, and software/computer program products. It should be appreciated that the example embodiments presented herein may be practiced in any combination with each other. It should be noted that the word "comprising" does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed and the words "a" or "an" preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the example embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several "means", "units" or "devices" may be represented by the same item of hardware.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments. However, many variations and modifications can be made to these embodiments. Accordingly, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the embodiments being defined by the following claims.

References:

1. Apparatus

2. Frame a. Vertical beams

3. Upper plate arrangement

4. Lower plate arrangement

5. Space

6. Upper vibrating platform

7. Upper vibrator arrangement

8. V-shaped plate a. Wings

9. First lower plate a. Lower end

10. Second lower plate a. Lower end

11. Lower vibrating platform

12. Lower vibrator arrangement

13. Protrusions

14. Opening

40. Promator ®

41. Loading magazine (LM) for caskets

42. Coffin & corpse separation module (CCSM)

43. Fragmentation unit

44. Drying module 44 (DM)

45. Metal separation & filling sealing module (MSFS) 45

D: Distance between vertical beams a: Angle between wings 8a

S: Separation between first lower plate and second lower plate

Claims

1. Apparatus (1) for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same, for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue, wherein the apparatus (1) comprises:

- a vertically extending frame (2) on which an upper plate arrangement (3) and a lower plate arrangement (4) is arranged,

- wherein the upper plate arrangement (3) comprises an upper vibrating platform (6) comprising an upper vibrator, wherein the upper vibrating platform (6) is arranged to move in a vertical direction towards the lower plate arrangement (4), wherein the upper vibrator is arranged to vibrate the upper plate arrangement (3) with a first frequency,

- the upper plate arrangement (3) further comprising a V-shaped plate (8) attached to the upper vibrating platform (6) and comprising two wings (8a) arranged facing away from each other sloping downwards being joined together to form a V-shape,

- wherein the lower plate arrangement (4) is arranged on a lower vibrating platform (11) comprising a lower vibrator arranged to vibrate the lower plate arrangement (4) with a second frequency,

- the lower plate arrangement (4) further comprising a first lower plate (9) and a second lower plate (10) arranged facing towards each other sloping downwards with a separation between lower ends (9a, 10a) of the first lower plate (9) and the second lower plate (10),

- wherein the first and second upper plates and the first and second lower plates (10) comprise protrusions (13),

- wherein the apparatus (1) is arranged to receive cryogenically frozen organic tissue between the upper plate arrangement (3) and the lower plate arrangement (4) and wherein the upper plate arrangement (3) is arranged to secure the cryogenically frozen organic tissue between the upper plate arrangement (3) and the lower plate arrangement (4) by moving towards the lower plate arrangement (4) to secure, - wherein the upper plate arrangement (3) is arranged to vibrate with an amplitude of between approximately 0-10 mm with the first frequency of between approximately 5-10 Hz and the lower plate arrangement (4) is arranged to vibrate with the second frequency of between approximately 600-800 Hz,

- wherein the impacts between the protrusions (13) and the cryogenically frozen organic tissue caused by the vibrations of the upper and lower plate arrangements (4) causes fragmentation of the cryogenically frozen organic tissue.

2. Apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein the upper plate arrangement (3) is provided with a liquid nitrogen spray/sprinkling cooling arrangement.

3. Apparatus (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower vibrator platform is connected to an electro-mechanical vibrator and the upper vibrating platform (6) is connected a hydraulic reciprocating piston.

4. Apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protrusions (13) extend over a width of the first and second upper plates and the first and second lower plates (10) and have a triangular cross section or a semi-circular cross section.

5. Apparatus (1) according to claim 4, wherein the protrusions (13) have a centre-to- centre distance of between approximately 40-60 mm and a height of approximately 15-25 mm.

6. Apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper plate arrangement (3) is attached to a hydraulic piston.

7. Apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus (1) contains a collecting unit arranged underneath the lower plate arrangement (4) for collecting the resulting fragments from the cryogenically frozen organic tissue.

8. Apparatus (1) according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus (1) contains a drying unit for drying the collected fragments from the cryogenically frozen human, animal, plant or part of the same.

9. Method for preparing organic tissue, such as a deceased human, a deceased animal, a plant or a part of the same for enabling an aerobic decomposition of the organic tissue, wherein the method comprises:

- arranging the organic tissue in an apparatus (1) according to any one of claim 1-8,

- exposing the organic tissue to vibrations with an amplitude of between approximately 0-10 mm at the first frequency of between approximately 5-10 Hz and the second frequency of between approximately 600-800 Hz, thereby causing fragmentation of the organic tissue,

- collecting the resulting organic tissue fragments from the impacts between the protrusions (13) and the cryogenically frozen organic tissue caused by the vibrations of the upper and lower plate arrangements (4) in a collecting unit,

- drying the fragments to a dryness of between approximately 3-5 %.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the method comprises:

11. Fragmented organic tissue fragmented by the method according to claims 10 or 11, wherein the fragments are separated from prosthetics and other metals found in the body.