Patent ID: 9550190
Date: 2017-01-24
CPC Classifications: B03C,C02F

Claim:
1. A method of dewatering a slurry, the slurry being tailings from bitumen extraction of mined oil sand, the method comprising: providing the slurry comprising mature fine tailings (MFT) or tailings from a tailings solvent recovery unit (TSRU) wherein the slurry comprises positively charged, dissolved cations in water, and negatively charged, suspended particles; and passing the slurry through at least one electro-kinetic thickener having a voltage gradient to remove the positively charged and dissolved cations and associated water from the slurry to produce a dewatered slurry, wherein the at least one electro-kinetic thickener comprises: an auger to move the slurry downstream, the auger having a conductive metal as an anode to attract the negatively charged and suspended particles and to repel the positively charged and dissolved cations; and a porous drum, having the auger disposed therein, and such porous drum being a cathode to repel the negatively charged and suspended particles, attract the positively charged and dissolved cations and the associated water, and allow the associated water to pass through the porous drum by electro-osmosis, wherein the porous drum comprises a screen tube, and the screen tube is supported on its outside by a first mesh tube and supported on its inside by a second mesh tube, the screen tube has a nominal sieve opening of one of (i) between 10 and 40 μm and (ii) within 50% of the D20 value of the particle size distribution of particles of the slurry, and at least one mesh tube has apertures of 0.01 to 0.001 inches.