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US 7,448,692 B2Granted
Method and means for processing oil sands while excavating
AssigneeOSUM Oil Sands.Corp
InventorsRonald D. Drake, Michael Helmut Kobler, John David Watson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is directed to the separation of bitumen, such as by the Clark process or by a countercurrent de-sander, in an underground excavation machine, such as a tunnel boring machine.
Claims26
A method of excavating and processing
- hydrocarbon-containing materials, comprising:
- excavating the hydrocarbon-containing materials with a rotating cutter head to form excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials;
- and
- separating a hydrocarbon-containing component from the excavated hydrocarbon- containing materials in an enclosed vessel, wherein, in a first mode, a surface of the enclosed vessel is operatively engaged with the cutter head, whereby the at least part of the enclosed vessel rotates in response to rotation of the cutter head and, in a second mode, the surface the enclosed vessel is operatively disengaged from the cutter head, whereby the enclosed vessel does not rotate in response to rotation of the cutter head.
1 more element
A method of excavating and processing hydrocarbon-containing materials, comprising:
- (a) excavating the hydrocarbon-containing materials with a rotating cutter head to form excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials;
- (b) locating the excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials in an enclosed vessel;
- and
- (c) while a first portion of the excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials is located in the enclosed vessel, rotating, during a first time interval, at least part of the enclosed vessel in response to rotation of the cutter head to separate a hydrocarbon- containing component from the excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials;
- and
- (d) while a second portion of the excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials is located in the enclosed vessel, not rotating, during a second time interval, the at least part of the enclosed vessel in response to rotation of the cutter head, wherein, in step (c), the at least a part of the enclosed vessel is engaged with the cutter head and, in step (d), the at least a part of the enclosed vessel is disengaged from the cutter head, wherein the at least part of the enclosed vessel is a surface of the vessel.
3 more elements
A method, comprising:
- (a) excavating, by a tunnel boring machine, a hydrocarbon-containing material, the tunnel boring machine comprising a rotating cutter head and an enclosed vessel in communication with at least a first input port in the cutter head, the at least a first input port being operable to receive material excavated by the cutter head;
- (b) transporting the excavated hydrocarbon-containing material through the at least a first input port and into the enclosed vessel;
- and
- (c) rotating the enclosed vessel in response to rotation of the cutter head to separate a hydrocarbon-containing component from the excavated hydrocarbon-containing materials, wherein the enclosed vessel is a Counter Current De-Sanding (CCDS) drum comprising at least one second input port in the CCDS drum, wherein the excavated material is transported from the at least one first input port to the at least one second input port in the CCDS drum, and wherein the CCDS drum is contained within the tunnel boring machine.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.