Tobacco of the required varieties and sufficient quantities, obtained from different geographical areas, is stored in a warehouse. The initial control of raw tobacco is the first stage of determining the physical and chemical properties of tobacco supplied to the tobacco factory. In tobacco industry, during the manufacturing process of different classes of tobacco products, dozens of varieties of heterogeneous tobacco leaves are used, differing from each other in technological, physio-chemical and morphological properties, and as a result, differently affecting the qualitative and quantitative indicators during the production.

Analyzing the numbers of the main indicators, we see significant differences, for example, the thickness of the tobacco leaf ranges from 0.04 to 0.08 mm, the weight of 1 m2 of the leaf varies in weight from 30 to 67 g, the resin content from 12 to 30 mg / cig., density from 0.5 to 1.2 g / cm3, leaf size from 3 to 60 cm, nicotine content from 0.8 to 2 mg / cig.

This affects a wide variety of physical and chemical properties of tobacco, even within the same variety, which significantly complicates the planning of economic indicators for production and preparation of raw materials for the manufacture of tobacco blends.

The second challenge lies in the fact that the tobacco leaf entering the production line is measured out by weight, and the produced blends used for the manufacture of cigarettes are measured by volume. That is, two cigarettes of same volume may have different weight depending on the types of tobacco used. The degree of filling the volume of the cigarette with the blend is determined by the volumetric elastic properties of the cut tobacco. Using tobacco blends with a higher filling capacity offers higher organoleptic properties, lower amounts of nicotine and tar, and better flammability.

This is why, during the development of the optimal formula for a tobacco blend with constant quality and taste properties, forecasting profits while minimizing the consumption of raw materials is critical. To optimize the production process, it is necessary to have all the information on the volumetric filling capacity of tobacco, that is, in ideal conditions, how much can be produced from a unit of weight of raw tobacco, taking into account technological losses. Thus, planning the amount of finished products produced on the basis of complete information about the properties of each type of tobacco leaf included in the tobacco blend recipe has financial importance.

Adjustment of the composition of the blend is a step that allows tobacco technologists to produce products that tastes the same from year to year. With strict adherence to the approved recipe, a tobacco blend is prepared from various types and commercial varieties of raw tobacco according to smoking characteristics corresponding to the requirements for the particular class of products. If necessary, this step is carried out using the physical and chemical studies of raw materials and previously manufactured products. However, the properties of the same variety of tobacco growing in the same geographical area can vary from batch to batch, depending on agricultural technology, rainfall and post-harvest technology. For this reason, the percentages of the various components in the blend need to be "adjusted" for a consistently "even" taste of the final product.

After the two critical stages of initial control and adjustment of the tobacco blend, the necessary raw materials are sent to the production line, generally, in C-48 corrugated boxes. At the (1) stage of the production of a blend, the tobaccos are unpacked according to the recipe to be used in the production process. The next step is the batch cutting of bales (2) on a guillotine tobacco cutter. The packaging of tobacco greatly varies in weight, from 20 kg. bales to C-48 tobacco corrugated boxes weighing up to 200 kg. The size of the tobacco leaf of different varieties of tobacco also varies widely from 10 to 40 cm, therefore the compressed raw material is cut with vertical cuts for uniform alignment of the components of the mixture according to physical and geometric parameters.

Moistening (3) is a technological operation performed in order to give some elasticity to the raw material to minimize dust losses during cutting and transportation along the conveyor.

Saucing (4) - a technological operation the purpose of which is to change the physical and chemical properties of tobacco, to give the tobacco an improved taste and soften the defects and irregularities of the blend. Saucing (4), moistening and conditioning (3) are carried out in the moistening and conditioning drums, where the dry tobacco leaf is restored to its original size of a green leaf and various kinds of tobacco are evenly mixed in the raw material container.

Tobacco aging is (5) the longest operation in the technological process of preparing a tobacco blend. It takes place in the mixer for 2-3 hours, after layer-by-layer placement of raw tobacco. The purpose of the operation is to evenly distribute moisture and sauce throughout the entire volume of tobacco. Thanks to the length of the process, during the aging stage the components of the sauce penetrate into the inner structure of the tobacco leaf, which gives the cigarette a uniform taste throughout the entire smoking process.

Cutting the tobacco (8) is the main technological process in the preparation of tobacco blends for the manufacture of tobacco products. The purpose of this process is to cut tobacco leaves into bulk pulp with minimal losses in the form of dust particles. The key characteristics of the quality of the bulk pulp are the cut cleanliness and the size of the tobacco fiber, which largely depend on the settings and the quality of the cutting machine. The consistency and stability of the tobacco cutting machine is guaranteed by important elements of the production line: a conveyor belt with a metal detector (6) and a storage device (7).

To minimize dust losses, the optimal moisture content of raw materials is about 20%. The total loss of tobacco throughout the entire technological process of preparing tobacco blends is approximately 6%. Cutting tobacco on a cutting machine allows you to get tobacco fibers with a width of 0.1-0.9 mm. It is at the cutting stage that the settings of the tobacco cutting machine determine the future purpose of blends in terms cigarette formats: king size, queen size, slim size, super slim size or Roll your Own (RYO).

Tobacco drying (9) is an operation necessary to lower the moisture content of tobacco from 20% required for cutting to 13.5% required for the finished product. During the drying process, the tobacco pulp warps under the influence of temperature, the resinous film softens and the adhesion of the fibers decreases. After drying, the volume of tobacco increases, as a result of uneven heating, the fibers that were straight after the machine cutting become twisted. Increasing the temperature for a short time has a positive effect on the smoking properties of the cut tobacco. There is a decrease in nicotine in the tobacco blend and, as a result, the strength goes down to 10%. After the heat treatment, the consumption of tobacco during the manufacture of tobacco products is reduced by 1.2-1.5%. This is due to the improvement of the volumetric-elastic properties thanks to the decrease in fiber bonding and the increase of the filling capacity of the tobacco as a result of twisting during heating. Designs of all kinds of drying devices using different drying methods and, as a result, with different economic costs, are created for the purpose of lowering the moisture content in the tobacco while increasing its volume. So, the percentage of the increase in the volume of the tobacco blend and, as a result, the economic effect on the production depends on the design of the drying device. Also, the cost of blend is influenced by the percentage of cut rolled stems (CRS) or cut rolled expanded stems (CRES) introduced into the recipe through the storage bin (10).

Cooling the tobacco blend in the silo (11) to 25C after the drying step is necessary to prevent the formation of moisture condensation before placing the dried tobacco in the accumulators (tobacco silo) for the cigarette production process. As a result of cooling the cut tobacco, the moisture level is evened out throughout the entire volume of the tobacco mixture.

Aromatization of the tobacco blend (12) takes place in the aromatization drum after adding the expanded stem (CRES) and reconstituted tobacco (Recon). To give the final blend an improved aroma, a low dosage flavoring solution, 0.1 - 0.2% by weight of the tobacco, is evenly applied to the cut tobacco.

The pre-final process of the technological production of a blend is the air separation of the cut raw tobacco (13). Air separation removes fine pieces and tobacco dust. For practical purposes, in production, to assess the quality characteristics of bulk pulp, three types of fractions are distinguished — coarse fiber, fine particles, dust. The increased percentage of fine particles and dust in the cut fibrous mass of tobacco raw materials indicates its unsatisfactory level of quality. Thanks to a well-established practice of determining the composition of fractions by particle size using the sieving method, we can talk about the heterogeneity of the three main types of fractions and their different physical properties. Coarse fiber - the fraction remaining on a sieve with holes of a 3 mm diameter. Fine particles — cut tobacco fiber, which passed through a sieve with holes of a 3 mm diameter and remains on a sieve with holes of a 0.5 mm diameter. Dust is a type of fraction that has passed through a sieve with a hole diameter of 0.5 mm.

Long fibers are characterized by poor elasticity, excellent deformation, and a good specific volume. The fine particles are known for excellent flowability, good elasticity, and a low specific volume. The dust has a minimum volume and an almost complete absence of characteristics inherent in bulk fiber mass, as a result of this it adversely affects the taste properties of the tobacco product and technological process. As a result of separation, the tobacco blend for the production of cigarettes takes on its final shape.

The finished product is sent by a conveyor belt to the packing and weighing station (14), where it is packed according to industry standards (C-48 boxes with a polyethylene liner) and prepared for further shipment to the client.

Fourteen production stages give a very general outline of the complex process of producing tobacco blends from tobacco leaves called "Primary processing". The final part of the journey of tobacco to becoming a finished tobacco product packaged in consumer packaging is called "Secondary processing".