Patent ID: 8663462

Claim:
A method comprising: mixing a material comprising bitumen with a first quantity of first solvent to form a first mixture, wherein the first mixture comprises a bitumen-enriched solvent phase; separating bitumen-enriched solvent phase from the first mixture to produce first solvent-wet tailings, wherein the first solvent-wet tailings comprise a first solvent component; adding a polar solvent to the first solvent-wet tailings to separate first solvent component from the first solvent-wet tailings and produce polar solvent-wet tailings, wherein the first solvent component is separated from the first solvent-wet tailings as part of a polar solvent-first solvent mixture, wherein the polar solvent comprises an oxygenated hydrocarbon; and maintaining the polar solvent-first solvent mixture for a period of time to allow the polar solvent-first mixture to phase separate into a polar solvent phase and a first solvent phase.