Patent ID: 8741144

Claim:
A process for separating a solute from a solute-bearing solid product, wherein the solute-bearing solid product is comprised of oil bearing sands, strata, mineral, rock formation or any combination thereof, comprising the steps of conveying particles of the solute-bearing solid product through an extraction apparatus comprised of a plurality of extraction chambers in series, wherein each extraction chamber includes a solvent injection portion at an upstream end of the extraction chamber and a collecting portion at a downstream end of the extraction chamber, and the particles of the solute-bearing solid product are conveyed from the upstream end to the downstream end of each extraction chamber and agitated in the solvent injection portion; spraying solvent into the solvent injection portion of each extraction chamber to contact the solute-bearing solid product particles in the solvent injection portion, wherein the solvent is comprised of propane, butane or a combination thereof, and each extraction chamber is solvent-vapor filled; and extracting a mixture of solvent and extracted solute from the downstream end collecting portion of each extraction chamber as solid product is sequentially conveyed through the plurality of extraction chambers, wherein the particles of the solute-bearing solid product are conveyed from the upstream end to the downstream end of each extraction chamber and agitated in the solvent injection portion in a free-floating flow pattern configuration.