Two biomass conversion processes have been studied: hydrothermal upgrading (HTU) under subcritical water conditions; supercritical water gasification (SCWG) in supercritical water. For the design of the two biomass conversion processes, the following contributions of thermodynamics have been presented: phase behavior and phase equilibria in the reactor and separators; indication of the favourable operation conditions and the trends in product distribution for the conversion reactions; construction of heat exchange network and exergy analysis. A wide variety of fluids have been dealt with, from small molecules to large molecules, including non-polar and polar substances. The statistical association fluids theory (SAFT) equation of state has been applied to calculate the mass distribution in different phases and to estimate the entropy and enthalpy values for different mass streams. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.