Recovery of oil from bituminous sands

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF EFFICIENTLY EXTRACTING OIL FROM BITUMINOUS SAND WHICH COMPRISES BREAKING UP SAID SAND INTO SMALL PARTICLES, FORMING A LIQUID SLURRY OF SAID PARTICLES IN A LIQUID HYDROGEN DONOR-DILUENT OF BOILING RANGE BETWEEN ABOUT 500* AND ABOUT 700* F., FEEDING SAID SLURRY TO A SETTLING AND SOAKING ZONE, HEATING SAID SLURRY NONCATALYTICALLY AND AT A PRESSURE SUFFICIENT TO PREVENT LOSS OF VOLATILE INGREDIENTS, A MAXIMUM OF 500 P.S.I.G. TO A TEMPERATURE BETWEEN ABOUT 750* AND 900* F., ALLOWING A PERIOD OF ABOUT 10 TO 120 MINUTES FOR SAID SAND TO SEPARATE FROM SAID OIL BY PHASE FORMATION, PASSING THE SAND TO A STRIPPING ZONE, FLUIDIZING SAND IN SAID STRIPPING ZONE WITH STEAM TO REMOVE RESIDUAL OIL THEREFROM, SEPARATING THE RESIDUAL OIL SO REMOVED FROM SAID STEAM AND PASSING SAID RESIDUAL OIL TO A FRACTIONATION ZONE ALONG WITH THE OIL SEPARATED FROM THE SAND IN THE SETTLING AND SOAKING ZONE, FRACTIONATING SAID OILS TO OBTAIN GASOLINE, GAS OIL, A DILUENT BASE FRACTION, BOILING BETWEEN 500* AND 700* F., AND A BOTTOMS FRACTION, BLEEDING OFF A PORTION OF SAID DILUENT BASE FRACTION, ADDING A THERMAL TAR OF SIMILAR BOILING POINT FROM CATALYTIC CRACKING OF A PETROLEUM FRACTION, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATING SAID COMBINED DILUENT BASE FRACTION AND THERMAL TAR BY ADDING 200 TO 600 S.C.F. OF HYDROGEN GAS THERETO UNDER HYDROGENATING CONDITIONS, RECYCLING THE PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED MATERIAL TO JOIN SAID SLURRY, AND ADDING SAID BOTTOMS FRACTION THERETO.