TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The catalyst comprises a metal disposed on a support, where the metal is a Group VIII metal, a Group IB metal, and/or tin. The metal is rhodium, and/or platinum. The catalyst further comprises cerium, palladium, platinum, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, magnesium, copper, silicon, titanium, vanadium, zinc, lanthanum, samarium, zirconium, hafnium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, yttrium, tin, antimony, rhenium, europium, and/or ytterbium. The metal is in the form of a pure metal, metal oxide and/or metal alloy. The catalyst support is a metal monolith, metal foam, ceramic monolith, foam ceramic monolith, solid spheres, porous spheres, pellets, gauze, wires and/or plates. The oxygen source is air, oxygen or oxygen-enriched gas. The product may further comprise synthesis gas.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Component: The reactor is autothermal reactor, a fluidized bed reactor, a packed bed reactor, a catalytic wall reactor, and/or a riser reactor.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The functional group is alcohol, an aldehyde, a carboxylic acid, a carboxylic acid ester, a ketone, an acid halide, an amide, an ether, and/or alkyl halide. The product may also include non-functionalized olefin (e.g. ethylene or propylene). The fuel source may comprises at least one biofeedstock such as carbohydrates, triglycerides, and/or polyols, or biodiesel. The triglycerides comprise vegetable oil (e.g. soy oil, palm oil, olive oil, sunflower seed oil, safflower seed oil, rape seed oil, wheat germ oil, corn oil, peanut oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, castor oil, and/or coconut oil), animal fat, and/or animal oil. EXAMPLE - Oxygen and nitrogen at the atomic ratio of approximately 3.76 N/O were initially heated to 350degreesC and admitted to a reactor to heat a catalyst (2.5 wt.% rhodium and 2.5 wt.% cerium on an alumina monolith) and walls of the reactor. The flow rates of the oxygen source, high purity nitrogen gas and oxygen gas, entering the reactor from high-pressure cylinders were adjusted to approximately 4 standard liters per minute (SLPM) using mass flow controllers that were accurate to plus minus 0.05 SLPM. The oxygen source released heat to the catalyst, heating it to 280 degreesC. The catalyst ignited within about 15 seconds. Liquid biodiesel was introduced at 68 g/hour through the fuel injector into the preheated section of the reactor. The fuel vaporized and mixed with the oxygen source at 350 degreesC and at a carbon/oxygen ratio of 0.9. The fuel and oxygen mixture contacted the catalyst at a contact time of approximately 12 milliseconds. The reaction was allowed to run for 30 minutes, at which time the backface temperature of the catalyst stabilized at approximately 1015 degreesC, heated as a result of the exothermicity of the reaction. The reaction products comprises 8% hydrocarbons (7% ethylene and 1% propylene), 88% hydrogen, 81% carbon monoxide and 8% carbon dioxide.