Abstract: Comminuted tobacco material expanding apparatus which includes a cellular wheel feeder and an expansion chamber integrated in the cellular wheel feeder. A nozzle opening in a wall of the expansion chamber provides for the introduction of a mixture of air and stream for accelerating the tobacco material under a pressure drop to at least 50 m/s with a residence time of the tobacco material in the expansion chamber of less than about 1/10 s. At least one nozzle opening is located in an end wall of the expansion chamber near the bottom so that an adjustable stream/air mixture moves the tobacco material substantially at a right-angle out of the expansion chamber. The expansion chamber is connected to an acceleration tube with converging cross-section which is connected to a delay tube.