Abstract: Reconstituted tobacco sheets manufactured from tobacco dust and binder are described herein. More particularly, the tobacco dust has a mean particle size in the range of from about 60 mesh to about 400 mesh to afford reconstituted tobacco sheets having about 80% to about 90% tobacco content with improved quality and survivability. The reduced particle size of the tobacco dust allows an increase in the solids content of the slurry without an increase in slurry viscosity. The increased solids content reduces the drying load of the cast sheet thereby allowing an increased production rate. The reconstituted tobacco sheets may be prepared from a slurry comprising tobacco dust and binder that may be subjected to a means for removing air trapped within the slurry before casting the slurry into sheets. An apparatus for determining the amount of air trapped within the slurry prepared according to the process of the present invention is also described herein.