Tar sands conditioning drum

A tar sands conditioning drum for mulling of mined tar sand lumps into pulp through the addition of hot water, steam and caustic which comprises;

• a horizontally disposed cylindrical drum of a length to diameter ratio of between 0.5:1 and 1.25:1, rotatable around its longitudinal axis and having
• a. an axial opening at one end for introduction of mined tar sand, water and caustic;
• b. a second axial opening at the other end for rejection of oversize, said second axial opening being delimited by a peripheral grate member extending longitudinally along the drum axis for discharge of tar sand pulp, the grate size being sufficient to allow ready passage of the tar sands pulp while retaining the oversize;
• and
• c. an externally supported stationary steam header extending into and substantially over the length of the drum interior along the longitudinal axis of the drum having affixed thereto, in fluid communication, a plurality of steam conduits which project downwardly from the steam header to a point above the lower interior surface of the drum, said steam conduits being positioned at spaced intervals along the length of the steam header and perforated for injection of steam into said cylindrical drum.