Patent ID: 8495921

Claim:
An apparatus for extracting substantially pure heavy oil or bitumen from a core sample comprising a heavy oil or bitumen, comprising: (a) a cylinder and piston assembly that receives the core sample, the cylinder and piston assembly having a bottom opening; (b) means for applying a force to the piston to axially displace the piston within the cylinder and press the sample against a filter assembly, where the force is applied at a rate determined by a relationship between a mobility of the heavy oil or bitumen contained in the sample and a mobility of an aqueous fluid contained in the sample; (c) the filter assembly disposed across the bottom opening for retaining solid particles within the cylinder, said filter assembly defining openings smaller than about 200 microns; and (d) fluid collection means disposed below the bottom opening of the cylinder and including a base plate pressure sealed against a surface of the cylinder and where the filter assembly is mounted in the base plate.