An improved catalytic fast pyrolysis process for preparing chemicals comprising steps of: i) feeding biomass, catalyst composition, and transport fluid to a catalytic fast pyrolysis process fluidized bed reactor maintained at reaction conditions to manufacture a raw fluid product stream, ii) feeding the raw fluid product stream of step i) to a solids separation and stripping system to produce separated solids and a fluid product stream, iii) feeding the fluid product stream of step ii) to a quench vapor/liquid separation system utilizing water or hydrocarbon quench to produce a liquid phase stream comprising water, char, coke, ash, catalyst fines, oxygenates, and C 9 + aromatics, and a vapor phase stream comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, olefins, and aromatics, said aromatics selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylenes, phenols, naphthols, benzofuran, ethylbenzene, styrene, naphthalene, methylnaphthalene and combinations thereof, iv) feeding the vapor phase stream of step iii) to a condensation system to produce an organic phase stream, v) feeding the organic phase stream of step iv) to a separation system to produce a high boiling fraction and a low boiling fraction, vi) feeding the low boiling fraction of step v) to a separation system to produce a fraction boiling above 85 °C and a fraction boiling below 85 °C, vii) hydrogenating at least a portion of the fraction boiling below 85 °C of step vi) at hydrogenating conditions to produce a hydrogenated fraction, and viii) recovering chemicals comprising at least 10% by volume cyclohexane from the hydrogenated fraction of step vii), in a product recovery system. i) feeding biomass, catalyst composition, and transport fluid to a catalytic fast pyrolysis process fluidized bed reactor maintained at reaction conditions to manufacture a raw fluid product stream, ii) feeding the raw fluid product stream of step i) to a solids separation and stripping system to produce separated solids and a fluid product stream, iii) feeding the fluid product stream of step ii) to a quench vapor/liquid separation system utilizing water or hydrocarbon quench to produce a liquid phase stream comprising water, char, coke, ash, catalyst fines, oxygenates, and C 9 + aromatics, and a vapor phase stream comprising carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, olefins, and aromatics, said aromatics selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylenes, phenols, naphthols, benzofuran, ethylbenzene, styrene, naphthalene, methylnaphthalene and combinations thereof, iv) feeding the vapor phase stream of step iii) to a condensation system to produce an organic phase stream, v) feeding the organic phase stream of step iv) to a separation system to produce a high boiling fraction and a low boiling fraction, vi) feeding the low boiling fraction of step v) to a separation system to produce a fraction boiling above 85 °C and a fraction boiling below 85 °C, vii) hydrogenating at least a portion of the fraction boiling below 85 °C of step vi) at hydrogenating conditions to produce a hydrogenated fraction, and viii) recovering chemicals comprising at least 10% by volume cyclohexane from the hydrogenated fraction of step vii), in a product recovery system.