Hot Water Extraction (Patent No: 976901)

Inventor: Baillie, Robert A.

Location: West Chester, PA

Comments: N/A

Description: THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. In a hot water process for treating bituminous tar sands including the steps:
(a) forming a mixture of tar sands and water;
(b) passing said mixture to a separation zone to form an upper bitumen froth layer, a middlings layer, and a sand tailings .layer and
(c) recovering said bitumen froth .layer, the improvement which comprises injecting pond water into the sand tailings layer within the separation zone at a point below the upper surface of said layer to displace at least a part of the middlings stream from the intersticies of said sand tailings layer and thereafter discarding the sand tailings layer and pond water from the separation zone.

2. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the pond water contains at least 5.0 weight percent mineral matter.

3. A process according to Claim 2 wherein the pond water is substantially pond sludge.

4. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the quantity of pond water added to the sand tailings layer comprises 50 to 100 volume percent of the water discharged with the sand tailings layer.

5. A process according to Claim 2 wherein the quantity of aqueous stream added to the sand tailings layer comprises 50 to 100 volume percent of the water discharged with the sand tailings layer.

6. In a hot water extraction cell suitable for separating bitumen from tar sands comprising:
(a) a tank having a side wall and a concave bottom with a discharge outlet therein;
(b) a tar sands pulp inlet to said tank;
(c) at least one middlings outlet in the side wall of said cell for withdrawing middlings material therefrom and
(d) an overflow launder positioned on the upper end and adjacent to the side wall of said tank to receive bitumen froth overflow, the improvement which comprises a hydroseparation liquid injection means disposed within the cavity of said concave bottom.

7. A cell according to Claim 6 wherein said hydroseparation liquid injection means is located adjacent to the discharge outlet in the bottom of said cell.