NOVELTY - Making (M1) hydrogen or syngas, involves treating process water stream to form oxygenates-rich stream comprising reforming reactant and oxygenates originating from hydrocarbon synthesis product water, by passing water stream through distillation unit and/or stripping water stream with stripping fluid of reforming reactant; and passing oxygenates-rich stream through reforming zone in syngas generator under reforming promoting conditions to form hydrogen and optionally carbon monoxide (CO) and to generate synthesis gas stream comprising formed hydrogen and optionally formed CO.    USE - For making hydrogen or syngas (claimed) for producing liquid fuel.    ADVANTAGE - The method provides a more economical way to produce steam for steam-utilizing syngas generation; provides economical way to boost hydrogen production in a carbon-to-liquids (CTL) plant; improves carbon utilization and recovery of water-soluble organic byproducts (e.g. oxygenates) for reuse in the overall CTL process; and provides an efficient way for improving carbon efficiency and/or reusing the Fischer-Tropsch product water in lieu of treating this water with a sizeable carbon load at a large expense in a wastewater facility.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Making (M1) hydrogen or syngas from the conversion of oxygenates originating from a hydrocarbon synthesis product water in a carbon-to-liquids process, involves:    (A) providing a syngas generator comprising a reforming zone;    (B) providing a process water stream comprising oxygenates originating from a hydrocarbon synthesis product water;    (C) treating the process water stream to form an oxygenates-rich stream comprising a reforming reactant and oxygenates originating from the hydrocarbon synthesis product water, where the treating to form the oxygenates-rich stream involves at least one of the following steps: passing the process water stream through a distillation unit, stripping the process water stream with a stripping fluid comprising the reforming reactant, or passing the process water stream through a distillation unit to form an oxygenates overhead stream and stripping the oxygenates overhead stream with a stripping fluid comprising the reforming reactant; and    (D) passing the oxygenates-rich stream through the reforming zone in the syngas generator under reforming promoting conditions for the conversion of the oxygenates and the reforming reactant to form at least hydrogen and optionally carbon monoxide (CO), and to generate a synthesis gas stream comprising the formed hydrogen and optionally the formed carbon monoxide.    An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for producing (M1) synthetic hydrocarbons and further producing hydrogen and optionally CO in a carbon-to-liquids system comprising two syngas generators operated in parallel, involving: (a) converting a carbonaceous feedstream in a first syngas generator to form a first synthesis gas stream comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen; (b) feeding the first synthesis gas stream or its portion to a hydrocarbon synthesis reactor comprising a hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst under conversion promoting conditions to produce synthetic hydrocarbons, product water, and oxygenates, thus generating a hydrocarbon product stream and a process water stream, the hydrocarbon product stream comprising at least a portion of the synthetic hydrocarbons, the process water stream comprising at least a portion of the produced oxygenates dissolved in at least a portion of product water; (c) carrying out the step (C); and (d) carrying out the step (D).