Greener Passages: Technology to Enable an Environmentally-Sound Death

We all will die and for every one of us, there is a question about what to do with our bodies after we die.

I was thinking about this problem long before I knew that I had ALS. In fact, I thought about it a lot as a teenager. I recently came up with ideas that are patentable which are the best solution yet for what to do with my body when I die. I am now pursuing my ideas as an entrepreneur, and I am looking for someone to work with me on this project.

I aim to find someone to be the principal activist on this project. That could be somebody who has a deep interest in changing the way that the end of life thing is handled. It might be an undertaker or a pastor. Or it could be an entrepreneur primarily motivated to make a difference for the environment.

I have filed three provisional patent applications that cover different elements of the alkaline hydrolysis and composting method for treating the body after death. The last one was filed yesterday.

When I first heard about the alkaline hydrolysis of human remains, I liked the idea because it rapidly reduces the body to a sterile liquid which still contains the building blocks of the person that was hydrolyzed. But then I learned that typically they flush the liquid into the sewer. That idea freaked me out. That was the starting point for improving the process.

I started with the idea to compost the body hydrolyzate in a way that makes the most sense as a soil amendment, while at the same time carrying out that process faster than the existing body composting methods.

As a chemist, I am keenly aware that the natural decomposition of the body in burial or composting implies going through putrefaction. One of the horrible smells that come from a dead body is cadaverine, the smell of death that battlefield veterans will never forget. It bothered me greatly that that occurs and I want it not to happen for me. Alkaline hydrolysis totally eliminates that.

When I was a teenager I learned about the practice of the Jains of India who put their naked dead on a platform for the vultures to eat. That was appealing to me. Unfortunately, that would freak out my family so I’m not going to do that even if it was legal in the US.

In addition to improving the hydrolysis of the body, I also made some inventions about alternatives to embalming the body so as to enable safe viewing and touching of the body without the body becoming stiff as is the case with embalmed bodies.

This idea is specifically aimed at not putting funeral homes out of business. I personally think that being able to see my father in the casket and touch him was an important part of me getting closure on his life.

It is very dismaying that if you touch an embalmed person’s face it is hard and nasty. I have conceived a good way to flush out the digestive system with an alcohol-based gel that will prevent the gas formation and the alcohol will penetrate into the body to preserve it long enough for the open casket service to occur.

This process avoids long-term rigor mortis. Normally rigor mortis subsides after about 24 hours, but embalming locks in this rigid state.

One of my inventions is a milder method of hydrolysis which leaves the bones stronger than is the case in conventional high-temperature alkaline hydrolysis.

I want to preserve the strength of my bones following hydrolysis. That is my personal preference, but I know many people don’t find that to be appealing.

Current alkaline hydrolysis methods reduce the bones’ integrity greatly by dissolving out the collagen that resides between the calcium apatite crystals. The bones become friable. I would prefer a more moderate alkaline hydrolysis condition where the bones survive intact.

The desire for milder hydrolysis made me think about tripotassium phosphate as opposed to potassium hydroxide as the main alkaline source. That is one of the things that is covered in my provisional patent applications.

For me personally, I would like to make advance preparations to be hydrolyzed using a mixture based on tripotassium phosphate.

Initially, I intend to focus on the composting aspect, obtaining the hydrolyzate from the existing commercially available processors.

I also discussed methods for hydrolysis followed by rapid composting. Chief among these is the concept of soaking the hydrolysate into biochar. The biochar could simply be dried as one option, or it could be incorporated into a compost pile first. This latter method is what I would prefer for my own body.

In the end, my composted body will be offered to my family to plant a tree in their yard. Or they may decide to plant one tree somewhere. Since my family is scattered across the country I assume that if they’re interested they’ll take some of my remains and plant trees somewhere that they could visit later.

Below is a list of action items for someone who is willing to take this on. I would also share my patent applications under NDA with such a person.

• Find an undertaker with a licensed alkaline hydrolysis machine who is interested in the business proposition.
• Consider the alkaline hydrolysis of pets as a first step.
• Do experiments at home using tripotassium phosphate for hydrolysis. This could be done safely in the oven or in a crockpot. In that case, I would use a piece of meat with a human-sized bone in it.

Points that must be addressed in a business plan:

• A modest royalty/burial would be the main source of income for this business. This royalty can be collected by having licensees buy their supplies from us.
• Selling the equipment to funeral homes to do the process could be part of the profit.
• We will sell supplies such as tripotassium phosphate-based mixtures which also would include trace elements and other alkaline chemicals for giving optimized hydrolysate for the ultimate use as a fertilizer after the composting process is complete.

These mixed potassium salts with trace element additives would be supplied to funeral directors or crematoriums as a licensed product permitting them to use the patents. The packets will be sold in convenient sizes to allow the treatment of different mass bodies.

Making this the primary source of income would allow selling the equipment at cost, or even as a loss leader. Funeral directors will be much more likely to try the method out if the upfront cost is minimized.

Another way to make a profit would be from licensing the technology in different regions and in other countries.

Part of the strategy is a PCT patent application. I want to plan for that being filed within a few months. This is a necessary but not sufficient condition to make money on the idea.

The first phase of a project is often to get in on the order of $50,000 that is typically called “walking around money.” I am willing to trade stock in our startup Greener Passages to get that seed money.

Many investors are looking to build a company and then sell the company for a lot of money quickly. We need to decide if we are willing to do that.

As soon as we sell our company they will change the whole purpose of the company. It might become something we don’t like anymore. It’s something to think about.

I personally would prefer not to sell the company but I would be willing to sell exclusive licenses to other companies perhaps in other regions of the US, or in other countries. One reason to associate with a big company is that they can develop the markets much quicker than we can.

A business plan needs a somewhat detailed description of the founders, what skills they bring to the process, and in our particular case, we must directly address what happens if I die. My recently completed business plan for Rethink Respironics provides a template for that.

I know this industry has conventions and the cost of attending those conventions should be included in the planned budget. Also, we need to think about how to obtain the help of a salesman.

I have a vision that we can move this forward by forming a partnership with the one funeral home in North Carolina that already has a licensed alkaline hydrolysis machine for human bodies.

It might be possible for us to subcontract with them just for the hydrolysis part of the process. We could recruit people that want to try our method for market intelligence. We might also be able to obtain hydrolyzed body remains with the family’s permission for experiments on the composting aspect of this invention.

A stock plan. I think it is best to break this up into multiple stages. The first stage of angel investment is walking around money. That first stage of investment is only to cover out-of-pocket expenses, nothing for salaries. After that, the stock purchase price should be defined for every subsequent stage of investment.

The second round of Angel investment should take the initial investors to between 10 to 20% of the ownership of the company. This Angel round should at least be enough to pay for all the salaries and expenses for 6 months.

Licensing and intellectual property status etc:

I will talk about this for sure when we talk to potential investors. I will be introduced as the visionary and the inventor but I will have no role in the company other than that my company Rethink Technologies is providing the intellectual property license and the technological backup.

I will also agree to exclusively license my further inventions in this area to Greener Passages provided that certain performance criteria are achieved.