This industrial building, designed in the Modernist style, was the headquarters of the Compañía General de Alumbrado por Acetileno (General Acetylene Lighting Company). At the factory, calcium carbide, produced industrially from calcium oxide and carbon at very high temperatures, was made to react with water. This reaction generated acetylene, a highly flammable gas that produces a very bright flame. It was used for public lighting, as well as for domestic and industrial purposes.
The chemical reaction that made this process possible was:
CaC2+2H2O →C2H2+Ca(OH)2
This lighting system spread rapidly between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As electricity became more widespread, carbide lamps gradually disappeared from public and domestic lighting. However, they continued to be used for decades in fields such as mining and caving.
Through this distinction, the Catalan Society of Chemistry recognises the historical and heritage value of the Cassà de la Selva Gas Factory. It is an exceptional example of how industrial chemistry was applied to everyday needs and played a significant role in the town’s development during the first decades of the 20th century.
Clara Viñas's collaboration
Clara is from Cassà de la Selva and has always had close ties to the cork industry, which experienced a period of great prosperity during her childhood. Although Cassà is a small town, it has always had a strong industrial tradition, with the cork industry being one of its most prominent sectors, but also the gas.
Two years ago, when the SCQ opened the call for applications for the award in this category, she thought that Cassà’s cork industry would be a good candidate. She therefore began exploring how a nomination could be submitted, and the proposal was well received by the members of GREC. Although she is not a member of the group, she offered her expertise as a chemist and helped draft and prepare the documentation required by the call for applications. However, it was GREC that formally submitted the nomination.
On that first occasion, however, the nomination was unsuccessful, as the award criteria required an emblematic building directly associated with the industrial activity being recognised. Although Cassà has a cork industry, it does not have a building that serves as its representative landmark.
This year, GREC considered that the gas factory might meet the necessary requirements and once again asked for her help. On this occasion, her contribution was essentially the same as the previous year, but the initiative to submit the nomination came from GREC itself.
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Reconeixement d’emplaçaments històrics 2026 | Societat Catalana de Química
