HOT WATER EXTRACTION PROCESS AND APPARATUS

摘要

A process for the separation and recovery of bitumen from oil sands containing bitumen and coarse and fine solids in a separation vessel which comprises the steps of slurrying 30 to 70% by weight oil sands in water, heating said slurry to a temperature in the range of about to about 90.degree.C, adding an effective amount of conditioning agents and air to said slurry and intimately admixing said conditioning agents and air with the slurry, preferably in a pipeline, feeding said conditioned and aerated slurry into said separation vessel and recovering bitumen as a froth. The conditioned and aerated slurry is introduced underwater into the separation vessel in a froth flotation-gravity separation zone wherein bitumen floats to the surface as a froth and coarse solids and a portion of fines fall by gravity to a bottom discharge portion of the vessel. The conditioning agents have the characteristics of kerosene and methyl-isobutyl-carbinol in an effective amount in the range of about 200 to 400 ppm and said kerosene and methyl-isobutyl-carbinol are present in the ratio of about 2:1. The separation vessel has a froth flotation-gravity separation zone and a quiescent zone adjacent thereto with at least one cone bottom for collecting and removing sand and fine solids.