Patent ID: 6841064

Claim:
A process for the gentle flash distillation of a residual oil from the processing of crude oil, natural bitumen or oil sand, which comprises mixing the residual oil with granular hot coke in a mixer, at a residual oil: coke weight ratio of from 1:3 to 1:30, to form a liquid film of residual oil on the granules of the coke, evaporating a part of the liquid film from the granules of coke in the mixer and withdrawing the resulting vapors and gases from the mixer, leaving behind moist, sticky granules of coke, withdrawing the moist, sticky granules of coke from the mixer and introducing them into a stirred tank, moving the granules downwards in the stirred tank while mechanically stirring them at a temperature of from 450° C. to 600° C. to evaporate further amounts of residual oil from the granules, and removing dry flowable coke from the stirred tank.