Patent ID: 7985171

Claim:
An apparatus for processing tar sand of a petroleum fraction and a sand fraction to separate the petroleum fraction from the sand fraction, the apparatus comprising: cylindrical outer shell; perforated cylindrical inner shell within the outer shell with a space between the inner and outer shell; one or more auger flights attached to the inner shell within the space; feed inlet for introducing tar sand feed treated with solvent into the outer shell; a drive system for spinning the outer shell and the inner shell about a spin axis, such that centrifugal force directs introduced tar sand to an inside wall of the outer shell and form on the inside wall a three layer system with a solids layer adjacent the inside wall including sand, an overlying petroleum layer including solvent and petroleum stripped from the sand, and an intermediate water layer comprising water between the solids layer and the petroleum layer; system for maintaining water volume such that the perforated inner shell is within the water layer, such that as solubilized petroleum is stripped from the sand in the solids layer, it travels by buoyancy through the water layer, through the perforated inner shell, and to the petroleum layer; skimmer system for removing petroleum from the petroleum layer to outside of the outer shell, the drive system configured to drive the outer shell and the inner shell at different rates and the auger flights so constructed such that the flights convey the sand in the solids layer toward the bottom of the outer shell and through an outlet to outside of the outer shell.