1. Background:

In tobacco blending, it can be difficult to choose the right blend of leaf tobacco in order to maintain a consistent levels of components such as nicotine, sugars, nitrogen, etc. The Tobacco Economic and Technical Institute of the Vietnam Tobacco Corporation, has applied information technology to optimize the tobacco blending based on leaf tobacco quality, tobacco types and tobacco origin. This method offers a good solution for tobacco blending and maintaining a stable quality and cost for cigarette production.

2. Usability of the software for tobacco blending:

• Storing the data of leaf tobacco including origins, types, chemical constituents and price of each type of leaf tobacco;
• Choosing the materials for blends with regard to various quality requirements such as chemical constituents, smoking characteristics, product price, etc., within a short time;
• The software can be used to deal with the technical job of establishing the blend of cigarette No. A in order to:
  • Recalculate the blending ratio of different types of leaf tobacco in cigarette No. A. In such way, the blenders can create a series of cigarette blending formulas with the same quality and price;
  • In case of lack of some tobacco types, the blenders can adjust the tobacco ratios which maintain the product quality at the same level, and the price can be reduced;
  • Some types of major leaf tobacco are available, but others can be changed so that the quality of the final products remains at the same level as for cigarette No. A;
  • When some tobacco types in the previous blending formula are in short supply, it can easy to determine new types for substitution in cigarette No. A, with high or similar quality;
  • It can be used to create another blending formula with quality as good as for cigarette No. A but with a lower price.
• The program was designed with a good interface and is easy to use;
• The program can provide different protocols for blending which allow keeping in line with blending requirements. In that way, the time for establishing blends can be reduced, and the operation is cheaper than with conventional methods.

3. Introduction of the software (will be on poster demo);

• Leaf tobacco management function;
• Searching the tobacco leaf management menu;
• Tobacco blending function optimising quality and cost;
• Function for displaying the blending recipes.