TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: In process (P1), the reflux stream provides at least a portion of the cooling required to partially condense the vapor conversion products in the partial condenser. The process (P1) further involves routing at least a portion of the removed concentrated aqueous phase to the conversion reactor and/or to a combustor for use as a heat source; routing at least a portion of the removed non-condensable gas stream to the conversion reactor for use as at least a portion of a lift gas in the conversion reactor; fractionating at least a portion of the second water-rich stream in a fractionator to produce a third water-rich stream and a third water-depleted stream, where the third water-depleted stream is rich in water-soluble light organic compounds; and introducing a reflux stream into the partial condenser, where the reflux stream provides at least a portion of the cooling required to partially condense the vapor conversion products in the partial condenser, and the reflux stream comprises at least a portion of the second water-depleted stream. The separating step (c) involves removing the second water-rich stream and the second water-depleted streams from the separator as separate liquid streams and further removing a non-condensable gas stream from the separator as a separate stream from the water-rich and water-depleted streams. The thermochemically converting of step (a) involves fast pyrolysis. Preferred Components: The reflux stream comprises at least a portion of the second water-depleted stream. The water-soluble light organic compounds comprise carboxylic acids, methyl vinyl ketones, and/or cyclopentenones, where the water-insoluble light organic compounds comprise benzene, toluene, and/or xylene. The first water-rich stream is rich in carboxylic acids, where the first water-depleted stream is depleted in carboxylic acids. The second water-rich stream is rich in the water-soluble light organic compounds, where the second water-depleted stream is rich in the water-insoluble light organic compounds. The first water-depleted stream further comprises concentrated aqueous phase comprising water and water-soluble heavy organic compounds, further comprising removing at least a portion of the concentrated aqueous phase from the first water-depleted stream. Preferred System: The system further comprises a phase separator for separating at least a portion of the first water-depleted stream into a bio-oil stream and a concentrated aqueous stream. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.