TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Component: The ASMS is in a compact configuration and comprises a spiral-wound membrane module with a high membrane surface area per unit volume. The heat generated by the methanation reactions is used to heat the sweep gas in the heat interchanger. The methanator can totally eliminate both CO and CO2 in the WGS product gas. The heat interchanger cools the H2 rich gas to 80degreesC as required by the proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline fuel cells. The sweep gas is preheated in the heat interchanger by the methanator product gas before it enters the ASMS. A single stage WGS reactor is utilized in the process. The heat generated by burning the unused hydrogen emanating from the fuel cells is used to preheat feed(s) or heat the sweep gas. The ASMS and methanator comprise a unitary acid gas-selective WGS membrane reactor (AWMR) for both acid gas-selective removal and CO contaminant reduction to less than 10 ppm for PEM fuel cells. The CO2 in the AWMR product gas is removed before the product gas is fed to alkaline fuel cells. The AWMR contains an acid gas-selective removal section followed by a WGS reaction section. The AWMR is in a compact configuration comprising a spiral-wound membrane module with a high membrane surface area per unit volume. The spent cathode gas sweep, air sweep or vacuum can be used to remove the permeate comprising the acid gas at the low pressure permeate side to maintain a high driving force for the separation.Preferred Property: No upstream sulfur removal is required in the inventive process. No sulfur removal is required in a combined AHR/WGS reactor which makes the combined reactor to be maintenance free. The sulfur tolerant nature of a combined AHR/WGS reactor allows downstream inline acid gas-selective removal via an ASMS at much lower temperatures (180-250degreesC), and thus increases the overall energy efficiency of the fuel process and system. The ASMS can reduce the H2S in the WGS product gas to less than 500, preferably 10-100 ppb. The ASMS enhances the H2 content in the hydrogen rich gas produced by acid gas-selective removal. It enables methanation reaction equilibrium to decrease the CO and CO2 concentration in the hydrogen rich gas to appropriate levels suitable for feeding PEM and alkaline fuel cells.Preferred Condition: The system is at at most10 atm. The pressure drop of the system is at most5 psi. The process is operated at 10-110% of design capacity.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: Sulfur tolerant AHR and WGS catalysts are used to make a combined AHR/WGS reactor ahead of the ASMS to be sulfur tolerant. The oxidant comprises air, enriched air or pure oxygen. The hydrodesulfurization portion comprises compound(s) from Group IV rare earth metal sulfide, Group IV rare earth metal sulfate, and/or substoichiometric metal. The AHR catalyst comprises a dehydrogenation portion of the AHR catalyst comprising metallic compound(s) from a Group VIII transition metal or an alloy of a Group VIII transition metal. It further comprises an oxidation portion comprising an oxidation material from a ceramic oxide and/or a dopant. The dopant is made of a rare earth metal, an alkali metal, and/or an alkaline earth metal. The AWMR contains a non-pyrophoric WGS catalyst between layers of a spiral-wound membrane in a WGS reaction section. The non-pyrophoric WGS catalyst comprises a sulfur intolerant catalyst or sulfur tolerant catalyst.Preferred Composition: The ASMS product gas at 180-230degreesC containing 0.5-2 mol.% CO and less than 100 ppb H2S is an ideal feed for phosphoric acid (PA) fuel cells.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Component: The ASMS comprises a spiral-wound membrane or hollow fibers to provide a faster response to load changes, higher energy efficiency and lower cost fuel process and system. The acid gas-selective membrane in the ASMS comprises polyamine and polyimide blends and copolymers which have high acid gas/H2 selectivity and good thermal stability at at most325degreesC as measured by thermal gravimetric analysis. The membrane of ASMS/AWMR comprises poly (2 or 4-vinylpyridine) and polyimide derived from polyamic acid which is synthesized from oxydianiline and oxidiphtalic anhydride.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The available fuels for the fuel process and system include hydrocarbons from gasoline, diesel, naphtha, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, heating oil, kerosene, jet fuel, alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, and hydrocarbon streams and alcohols from methanol, ethanol, butanol, pentanol, or alcohol-containing steams.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Component: The ceramic oxide comprises a ceramic oxide material from zirconium oxide, cerium (IV) oxide, bismuth oxide, bismuth orthovanadate, lanthanum gadolinium (III) oxide, and/or gadolinium doped ceria.