TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The reforming process is dry-gas reforming or steam methane reforming; sulfur passivated reforming. In the method (M1), no specific separation of carbon monoxide from carbon dioxide in the product stream is performed prior to recycle; at least 80% of the carbon monoxide and 80% of the carbon dioxide in the gaseous third product stream are recycled; at least some of the hydrogen in the gaseous third product stream is separated and utilized as a fuel gas; where steam (preferably CO2) is present in a molar ratio of less than 1:1; both the reforming and fermentation steps are operated at a pressure of 2-12 barg. EXAMPLE - A feed of methane (100 kmoles/hour) was passed to a steam methane reformer with steam (285 kmoles/hour) and a recycle stream of hydrogen (92 kmoles/hour), carbon monoxide (19 kmoles/hour), carbon dioxide (181 kmoles/hour) and methane (2 kmoles/hour). The steam:CO2 ratio in the reforming was 1.56:1. The reforming produced a product stream consisting of hydrogen (318 kmoles/hour), carbon monoxide (193 kmoles/hour), carbon dioxide (107 kmoles/hour), methane (2 kmoles/hour) and water (259 kmoles/hour) in the vapor phase. The product stream was cooled and the majority of the water (256 kmoles/hour) was separated from a first product stream comprising the remaining components. Both the separated water and the first product stream were then passed to the fermentation step (total feed same as product stream from reforming), where fermentation occurred to produce 2 product streams, a gas stream consisted of hydrogen (231 kmoles/hour), carbon monoxide (19 kmoles/hour), carbon dioxide (194 kmoles/hour), methane (2 kmoles/hour), a liquid stream consisted of water (216 kmoles/hour) and ethanol (44 kmoles/hour). The system resulted in excess hydrogen, and thus hydrogen (139 kmoles/hour) was separated via membrane separation. Membrane separations were imperfect and removed gases in the following order of preference H2 greater than CO2 greater than CO so a minor amount of carbon dioxide (12 kmole/hour) was necessarily also removed with the hydrogen. The remaining components (hydrogen (92 kmoles/hour), carbon monoxide (19 kmoles/hour), carbon dioxide (181 kmoles/hour) and methane (2 kmoles/hour)) were recycled to the reforming step. Thus the method generated more ethanol as well as an amount of hydrogen that was usefully separated and utilized as fuel gas.