Hot Water Bitumen Extraction Cell (Patent No: 949482)

Inventor: Baillie, Robert A.

Location: West Chester, PA

Comments: N/A

Description: [52] CLASS 196-30
[11] 949,482
[54] HOT WATER BITUMEN EXTRACTION CELL
[72] Baillie, Robert A., West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., Rose, David E., Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and Thompson, Robert J., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
[73] Granted to Great Canadian Oil Sands, Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
[21] Application No. 130,822
[22] Filed Dec. 22, 1971
10 Claims

[57] In a separation cell used for hot water extraction of bitumen from tar sands, the cell comprising a tank with an upwardly concave bottom, a rotatable center shaft running as a vertical axis to the tank from the top of the tank to the bottom, middlings outlets at the side of the tank, a sands discharge outlet at the bottom of the tank, an overflow means connected at the side of the tank, a sand rake connected to the center shaft to rotate with the shaft and positioned to move settled sand toward the sand discharge outlet and a means for rotating the center shaft, the improvement which comprises a saucer-shaped member located on the shaft and affixed thereto at a point between the tar sands inlet and the sand rake, said saucer-shaped member being inverted to the bottom of the cell and having a skirt extending downward from the outer periphery of said saucer-shaped member.