Hydrothermal conversion and separation

A system for processing an organic material to produce energy, said system comprising:

• a reactor vessel for hydrothermally treating the organic material with water to produce an effluent;
• a first heat exchanger for cooling said effluent to a temperature sufficient to condense water vapor in said effluent;
• a gas-liquid separator for separating said cooled effluent into a gaseous stream and a residnal stream;
• a gas turbine for combusting at least a portion of said gaseous stream to produce energy and waste heat;
• and
• a second heat exchanger for removing said waste heat from said gas turbine and using said waste heat to preheat the organic material.

A method for processing feedstock having an organic constituent, said method comprising the steps of:

• introducing said feedstock into a reactor vessel;
• hydrothermally treating said feedstock to produce an effluent containing gases;
• cooling said effluent to a temperature sufficient to condense water vapor in said effluent to create a condensate;
• extracting gas from said cooled effluent;
• introducing said extracted gas into a gas turbine to produce energy and waste heat;
• and
• using said waste heat to preheat said feedstock prior to said hydrothermally treating step.