Process for separating bituminous materials and recovering solvent

Claim 1

A process comprising: separating an admixture comprising a fluid-like bituminous material and a solvent in a separation zone into at least a fluid-like light phase comprising a portion of said bituminous material and solvent and a fluid-like heavy phase comprising the remainder of said bituminous material and solvent by maintaining the mixture at an elevated temperature and pressure; reducing the pressure on said heavy phase to vaporize at least a portion of the solvent present therein and form a mixture of fluid-like bituminous material in association with said vaporized solvent together with undesired fine particles of bituminous material dispersed therein; introducing said mixture into a steam stripping zone comprising a steam stripper vessel to separate at least a portion of any nonvaporized solvent remaining in association with said fluid-like bituminous material, said mixture being introduced into said stripping zone through an introduction means in a manner such that a centrifugal motion is imparted thereto, said introduction means including a plurality of vanes, the surfaces of which are at least partially wetted by the fluid-like bituminous material of said mixture and which utilize said centrifugal motion to create turbulence in said mixture within said introduction means to cause at least a portion of said fine particle size bituminous material dispersed in said vaporized solvent to impinge on said portion of said surfaces of said vanes on which said fluid-like bituminous material is present and adhere to said fluid-like bituminous material to cause said fine particles of bituminous material to separate from said vaporized solvent; and recovering said solvent from said steam stripping zone substantially free of any fine particle size bituminous material.