Static deaeration conditioner for processing of bitumen froth

A method for conditioning a bitumen froth feed stream output from a tar sands primary separation process comprising:

• supplying a bitumen froth feed stream output from a tar sands primary separation process to be conditioned at a temperature above about 50 degrees Celsius to an inlet port of a vessel, the vessel forming an interior volume enclosing a plurality of substantially equidistantly spaced plates disposed at an inclination angle alpha relative to the horizontal forming channels there between with at least one common dimension;
• portioning said froth to each respective channel;
• passing each said froth portion through a respective channel;
• and
• collecting said froth portions in a deaerated condition at an outlet port of said vessel.

A method for deaerating bitumen froth recovered from tar sands comprising:

• supplying a bitumen froth to be deaerated at a temperature above about 50 degrees Celsius to an inlet port of a vessel, the vessel forming an interior volume enclosing a plurality of substantially equidistantly spaced plates disposed at an inclination angle alpha relative to the horizontal forming channels there between with at least one common dimension;
• portioning said froth to each respective channel;
• passing each said froth portion through a respective channel;
• and
• collecting said froth portions in a deaerated condition at an outlet port of said vessel.