TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: A finely divided solid fuel is injected into the first reaction zone and both reactions occur in entrained flow or fluidized bed reaction zones with fine solid particles being carried or suspended by the gas stream moving through the reaction zones, but solid particles in the second reaction zone may have sufficient density to settle out countercurrent to the gaseous flow. The two reaction zones are partially overlapping and heat is transferred from the first reaction zone to the second by nesting one reaction zone within the other, with separation by a heat conducting and radiating wall. These two reaction zones are at 500 - 1200degreesC and pressures of 2 - 80 atm. The extent of carbon conversion of the solid fuel and dissociation of the methane to carbon and hydrogen may be controlled across a range of up to 99% conversion by varying the volume of hydrogen-rich gas recycle and conditions of pressure, temperature, reactants residence time, and optionally catalysis in both reaction zones. The continuously removed carbon product is recovered as a clean fuel product with at least 80% of feedstock sulfur, nitrogen and ash removed and/or recovered for use as a solid non-fuel product. The methane and carbon monoxide may be recovered in lower volumes than hydrogen for conversion to heat and/or electrical energy. The carbon monoxide produced from the first reaction zone is partially reacted with gaseous water to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The gas species containing nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, or metals are partially removed from a hydrogen-rich gas stream recycled from the second reaction zone to the first reaction zone to the extent that such gas species are not accumulated in the process. The gas species are partially removed from the product gas steam which exits the process as an energy product, such that the gas species are reduced to concentrations which will not be deleterious to energy conversion devices converting the product gas stream or will not produce emissions to the environment exceeding regulations applying to operation of the process. The product gases recovered from the process are converted to electrical energy by such devices as high-efficiency fuel cells or gas turbine/electrical generator combinations, which are compatible with operation using high concentrations of hydrogen. The unconverted carbon char is recovered from the first reaction zone such that this carbon may be applied as a combustion fuel or for applications such as gas or liquid filtration. The solid carbon produced from methane dissociation and recovered from the second reaction zone is in a macro scale form or in a nano-scale form, such as nanofibers, nanotubes or nano-coke. The process is optionally catalyzed. The solid carbon molecular shapes, particles or fibers produced from methane dissociation as the primary substance form materials such as electrodes or other structural forms where techniques as compaction, extrusion, pultrusion, injection molding, and machining is applied and where binder material may used to stabilize such forms or structures. The binder material is produced by mild pyrolysis of a portion of the hydrocarbon feedstock.