TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The raw synthesis gas containing at least one sulfur compound is formed by gasification of carbonaceous feedstock at elevated temperature and pressure, followed by cooling and either washing or filtering the resulting gas stream to remove particulate material. The gasification is performed on a coal powder or aqueous slurry in a gasifier using oxygen or air and in the presence of steam at a pressure up to 75 bar abs and an exit temperature of up to 1450 degrees C. Prior to the heating stage in the reactor, the raw synthesis gas temperature is adjusted to an inlet temperature by heating or cooling the washed or filtered gasified feedstock. The heated synthesis gas is subjected to the water-gas shift reaction in a vessel containing a supported cobalt-molybdenum catalyst. The water gas shift reaction is performed at 250-500 degrees C. The heated raw synthesis gas is divided into first and second streams, with the first stream passed over the shift catalyst and the second stream by-passing the shift catalyst, and forms catalyst by-pass stream (56). The upstream of the shift stage, the raw synthesis gas containing at least one sulfur compound is divided into first and second streams, with the first stream fed to the shift reactor where it is heated and at least a portion passed over the sour shift catalyst, and the second stream by-passing the shift reactor, and forms reactor by-pass stream (30). The catalyst by-pass stream is combined with the reactor by-pass stream to form a combined by-pass stream. The catalyst by-pass stream and reactor by-pass stream are each less than or equal to 10 vol.% of the raw synthesis gas stream. The by-pass stream is subjected to a carbonyl sulfide (COS) hydrolysis step by passing the stream over COS hydrolysis catalyst prior to further downstream processing. The by-pass stream is mixed with the shifted gas stream. The mixed by-pass and shifted gas stream is subjected to at least one water-gas shift stages to further increase the hydrogen content of the synthesis gas. The process additionally involves: cooling the shifted gas stream, to below the dew point to condense water; separating the resulting condensates to form a dry shifted gas stream; feeding the dry shifted gas stream to a gas-washing unit operating by counter-current solvent flow, to produce a product synthesis gas; and collecting the product synthesis gas from the washing unit; or combining the shifted gas stream and by-pass stream selected from the catalyst by-pass stream, the reactor by pass stream, or the combined by-pass stream; optionally performing at least one shift stage on the resulting mixture to increase the hydrogen content; cooling the resulting mixture, to below the dew point to condense water; separating the resulting condensates to form a dry gas mixture; feeding the dry gas mixture to a gas-washing unit operating by counter-current solvent flow, to produce a product synthesis gas and collecting the product synthesis gas from the washing unit. The combined by-pass stream is subjected to steps of: cooling to below the dew point to condense water; separation of the resulting condensates to form dry un-shifted gas mixture; feeding the dry un-shifted gas to a gas-washing unit operating by counter-current solvent flow, to produce product synthesis gas; and collecting the product synthesis gas from the washing unit. The dry un-shifted gas mixture is fed to a gas washing unit along with the dry shifted gas stream, such that the solvent flowing through the unit contacts first with the dry un-shifted gas and then a dry shifted gas stream. The shift, by-pass and gas washing stages are operated such that the product synthesis gas has a stoichiometry ratio (R=(H2-CO2)/(CO+CO2)) of 1.4-3.3 (preferably 1.4-2.5). Preferred Components: The carbonaceous feedstock is coal.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Reactor: The reactor comprises cylindrical shell fitted with synthesis gas inlet and outlet and containing a bed of particulate sour shift catalyst arranged so that a synthesis gas can flow along vertical axis through the reactor and catalyst, with several tubes through which the synthesis gas optionally flow arranged vertically and co-axially through the catalyst and connected at one end by header arrangement (40) to a source of raw synthesis and at the other end by collector arrangement to the line returning at least a portion of the heated gas, mixed with steam, to the catalyst. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.