Patent ID: 7591929

Claim:
An apparatus for processing oil sand to produce a liquid stream comprising water and bitumen and a solid stream comprising solid particles, the apparatus comprising: (a) a generally cylindrical drum having a first end, a second end and an interior surface, the drum comprising a conditioning zone adjacent to the first end, a compressing zone adjacent to the second end, and a processing zone between the conditioning zone and the compressing zone; (b) a rotatable spiral trough extending along the interior surface of the drum through the conditioning zone, the processing zone and the compressing zone, for imparting a spiral rolling motion to the oil sand, the spiral trough having a width, wherein the width of the spiral trough through the compressing zone is less than the width of the spiral trough through the processing zone; (c) a plurality of lifting members oriented generally transversely within and spaced along the spiral trough, for lifting the oil sand as the spiral trough rotates; (d) an oil sand inlet, wherein the oil sand inlet communicates with the conditioning zone of the drum; (e) a liquid stream outlet for the drum located at the first end of the drum; (f) a water inlet, wherein the water inlet communicates with the processing zone of the drum; (g) a solid stream outlet for the drum located adjacent to the second end of the drum such that the compressing zone is located between the processing zone and the solid stream outlet; and (h) a drive mechanism for rotating the spiral trough.