The Lafarge Bresil S.A. plant in Matozinhos, Brazil is one of Brazil’s leading cement production facilities. Opened in 1959, the plant produces 660,000 tons (600,000 metric tons) of clinker per year. The need to improve efficiency and maintain production without outages led company officials to consider ways to improve flow through the plant’s pre-heater tower.

Martin^® Air Cannons with Martin^® Tornado Exhaust Valves were installed by service technicians from Martin Engineering’s business unit in Campinas, Brazil.

The Martin^® Air Cannon with the Martin® Tornado Exhaust Valve provides a faster and more powerful discharge than previous Martin^® Air Cannon Systems. At the Lafarge Bresil plant, the air cannons with the Martin^® Tornado Valves were installed roughly 40 feet (12 meters) from the solenoid valve panel without loss of charge or line pressure.

The system uses 3/8-inch (9.5-mm) diameter air lines. Unlike conventional air cannons, the patent-pending Martin^® Tornado Exhaust Valve fires in response to a positive surge of air pressure sent by a solenoid valve. This positive action allows a faster discharge, which amplifies the output to produce up to 20% more force than a standard Martin® Air Cannon.

In addition, the improved air path of the new valve fills the reservoir three to four times faster than standard designs. Martin Engineering Brazil reports that Lafarge Bresil is very satisfied with the performance.