The customers demanded high quality standards and the production of carbide, cyanamide, dicyandiamide and CY-50 had to be constantly monitored. Later emissions in water and air were also measured. The Odda process, a revolutionary way to produce NKP fertilizer, was the result of many years of research and was patented by head chemist Erling B. Johnson and Odda Smelteverk AS in 1928. Read more: The factories in Odda
International technology history has been made in this place.
Samples were taken routinely at various stages in the production process. They were crushed, ground, sifted and divided into analysis quantities according to methods established by international standards.
The raw materials used to produce carbide and cyanamide, are; coal, coke and limestone. Coal and coke were imported. From the beginning of operations until the nineteen sixties the limestone came from quarries on the west coast of Norway. Later the smelting plant obtained high quality limestone for about 30 years from Llanddulas on the northern coast of Wales. The coke came from mines on the east coast of England.
The carbide production soared in 1966. The laboratory monitored the production closely with analyses and tests. More and more attention was being paid to emissions and environmental hazards. As of 1984 the directors of the laboratories of the three leading businesses in Odda and Tyssedal participated in a ground-breaking work through the contact group for environmental issues. The Indre Sørfjord project was launched in cooperation with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, NIVA, and the Industrial Research Centre (SI) with the purpose of mapping and reducing pollution. Environmental reports which resulted in pilot projects aimed at reducing the emission of heavy metals and other substances were produced.
The building belongs to the Museum of Hydro power and Industry - now Kraftmuseet, which opened the KraftLaben Science Centre in 2011. The study of natural sciences is a priority in Odda, and in this centre children and youngsters can discover and learn more about natural phenomena.
