TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Material: The reactor vessel is formed from a ceramic material. The ceramic material is hexoloy or equivalent. The exterior vessel is lined with a refractory material.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Method: The breakdown products from the reactor vessel are free to fall onto the bed of carbon without any intervening grate such that the feed materials can fall from the feed inlet to the bottom of the exterior vessel by gravity and are maintained in the reactor vessel for breakdown by the shape and arrangement of the reactor vessel and are prevented from reaching the bottom of the exterior vessel by the carbon bed. The materials move from the feed opening through the reactor vessel to the bottom of the exterior vessel solely by gravity without assistance of moving elements providing motive power thereto. Air supply to the exterior vessel is controlled to increase or decrease the rate of combustion of the carbon bed such that the temperature of the exterior vessel is maintained at a required temperature above 600degreesC. The heat from combustion of the carbon bed is used to maintain the temperature at the required temperature without additional fuel. Release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere is reduced by removing carbon from the carbon bed at the bottom of the exterior vessel. Preferred Material: The feed material includes slurry containing greater than or equal to50% water. Preferred Condition: The combustion air used to oxidize the product gases leaving the reactor vessel and carbon particles in the exterior chamber are preheated to over 1000degreesF. The combustion is arranged to provide a retention time of at least the order of two seconds in the exterior vessel. Preferred Function: The volume and temperature of combustion air used to oxidize the product gases leaving the reactor vessel and carbon particles in the exterior chamber are controlled to control the rate of breakdown of the feed material in the reactor vessel. The volume and temperature of combustion air supplied to the first chamber is used to control the temperature in the reactor vessel.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Equipment: The reactor vessel includes an upper mouth and a bottom discharge opening such that the feed materials pass through by gravity. It has a shape such that feed material fed into the reactor vessel is restricted by the shape of the portion in flowing downwards to the open bottom discharge opening sufficiently to maintain the feed materials in the portion to allow the breakdown to occur. Preferred Component: A bed of carbon is provided at the bottom of the exterior vessel onto which the solid breakdown products from the reactor vessel fall. A water injection system is provided for adding water into the reactor vessel. A rapid response anticipatory control is provided, including a residual oxygen sensor, in the stack gas stream for controlling the temperature of the reactor vessel. Preferred Function: The air lock feed system adds feed materials to the reactor vessel to maintain feed products in the reactor vessel for operation in a continuous mode.