METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING HYDROCARBONS FROM MINERAL SUBSTRATES

摘要

Method and apparatus for treating a mixture of mineral substrate particles and hydrocarbon compounds, especially tarsands and contaminated soils, to recover a hydrocarbon portion and a cleaned substrate portion. Rock, sand, ore, or soil containing bitumen, petroleum, and/or kerogen is comminuted to the particle size of sand or smaller. The comminuted ore (10) is mixed with water in mixing zone (21) forming a slurry, is heated by heater (68) to between 60°C and 100°C, and is blended in oxidizing zone (23) with an oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution. Free interstitial hydrocarbons and hydrocarbons bound electrostatically to surfaces of particles in the ore are released form the mineral substrate. Some released hydrocarbon compounds may be controllably cleaved by the oxidant to yield organic compounds with weights which are suitable for refining as oil after separation of process water and residual particulate mineral substrate.