Tobacco Asia

46 tobaccoasia / Issue 3, 2017 July / August By Thomas Schmid Sorting It All Out Efficient and reliable removal of NRTM and NDTP from tobacco at the threshing and primary stages is a crucial task that not only ensures final product quality but also helps prevent potential equipment damage. Tobacco Asia explores the specialized sorting machinery offered by the two world leaders, Hauni and TOMRA. Hauni's Tobaccosorter 8, mostly used for NTRM removal from threshed leaf, strips, and rag blends Foreign objects can find their way into tobacco at any production stage, from harvesting to curing; to packing, shipping, and warehousing, and be- yond. Referred to as non-tobacco related materials (NTRM), they are strictly speaking any materials or substances that are, well, not tobacco. Another category in itself are actual parts of the tobacco plant proper, such as woody stalks, roots, seed capsules, or such plant parts which are not wanted in the final product because they'd negatively im- pact its quality and purity. NTRM: a plethora of non-tobacco stuff Tobacco can get contaminated with NTRM at pretty much any stage during production and pro- cessing. While the bulk of NTRM are introduced coincidentally or accidentally, it sometimes can be the result of carelessness during farming, harvest- ing, and processing. Bird feathers, animal drop- pings, insect cocoons and pupae, cobwebs, grass, and weeds can find their way into tobacco bales. Sand may be left clinging to leaves, but pebbles and small rocks also may be contained in bales and pressed strips. Civilization trash like discarded plastic bags, candy wrappers, and the like also is relatively common. Harvesting and processing machinery failures may unduly "enrich" tobacco with nuts, bolts, bearing balls, and other metal objects; and the consequences for threshers or slicers can obviously be disastrous if they are not re- moved. Packing materials such as metal staples,

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