TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred process: The reaction mixture is passed through a pulsed discharge plasma in a continuous, pseudocorona-effect discharger at atmospheric pressure, or (i) through a torch-effect, quasi-stationary discharge plasma with pulse duration of radiation below 100 msec.A subcritical value of electric field intensity of the microwave pulses is maintained in the reactor and discharge of the microwave corona is initiated in the edges of the corona elements, with an electrical field of at least 1 MV/cm at the heads of the injectors.Pulse duration is 0.1-1 msec, with ratio pulse period:pulse duration 100-1000.Microwave radiation is in the X and S bands and the energy input to the plasma is 0.05-0.2 kWh/m3, adjusted so that it is not over 10% of the reaction enthalpy at the working temperature.Reactants enter the reactor at 800-15000 K when water vapor is supplied or at 600-1100 K when it is not.The ratio of the proportion of (A) burnt to residue is 0.5-2 (with water vapor) or 0.4-2 (without), and the mole ration air:(A) is 16-20.Preferred Apparatus: The apparatus comprises fuel evaporator; water evaporator and air feed which supply their respective materials, via a heat exchanger, to an entry chamber (CE), part of the fuel and the air, and mixing chamber (CM), rest of the fuel and water, also material from CE. The material in CM then passes to a reaction chamber (RQ) fitted with a microwave generator for production of (B). CE includes many axially positioned injectors for fuel and air, while CM is fitted similarly with injectors for water and fuel. RQ comprises a modulator; magnet; waveguide system and device for delivering microwave energy. EXAMPLE - In a typical case, a reactor (35 cm long; 10 cm diameter) produced 17 nm3 (sic) of hydrogen/hr. It consumed, per nm3 of synthesis gas (minimum hydrogen content 55%) formed, 0.288 kg fossil fuel; 0.108 kg water vapor and 1.018 kg air, also less than 1 kWh total energy and less than 0.1 kWh electrical energy. The parameters of the microwave system were: 2.9 GHz; pulse duration 0.5-1 microsec; repeat rate up to 1 kHz; pulse power 1.7 MW; mean power 1.7 kW and wavelength of the radiation 10 sm (sic).