TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The method (M1) comprises: performing step (a) and step (b) simultaneously in a single reactor vessel; performing step (a) and step (b) using more than one catalyst bed; performing step (a) before and step (b), and performing step (a) and step (b) sequentially in separate reactor vessels. The step (a) and step (b) are performed using at least one catalyst comprising a group VIIIB metal including iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium or platinum, where the catalyst is alloyed with, combined with, or further comprises at least one element including copper, potassium, manganese, lanthanum, rhenium, zinc, silicon, silver, cerium, gadolinium, thorium, manganese, zirconium, titanium, chromium, vanadium, lithium, sodium, rubidium, cesium, molybdenum, gold, boron, chlorine or their oxides. The step (a) and step (b) are performed using at least one catalyst comprising: platinum, ruthenium and/or rhenium; group VIIIB metal disposed on a support; or platinum, ruthenium and/or rhenium, where the catalyst is disposed on the support comprising carbon, aluminum oxide, cerium oxide, zirconium dioxide, magnesium oxide and/or zirconium oxide. The step (a1) and step (b) are performed using at least one catalyst comprising: a group VIIIB metal including iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium or platinum; platinum, ruthenium and/or rhenium; or group VIIIB metal disposed on the support. The method (M2) comprises: performing step (a1) and step (b) simultaneously in a single reactor vessel; performing step (a1) and step (b) using more than one catalyst bed; or performing step (a1) before and step (b), and performing step (a1) and step (b) sequentially in separate reactor vessels. Preferred Components: The support is: carbon, and oxides of aluminum, cerium, zirconium, and/or magnesium; or zirconium titanium oxide of formula (ZrxTiyO2), titanium silicon oxide of formula (TixSiyO2), titanium zirconium oxide of formula (TixZryO2), titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium dioxide, thorium dioxide, kieselguhr, lanthanum oxide, magnesium chromium oxide, zinc oxide, chromium(III) oxide, manganese oxide, niobium pentoxide, cerium(IV) oxide, Y-zeolite, USY-zeolite, ZSM-5 zeolite, MCM-41 zeolite, MCM-22 zeolite, HZSM-5 zeolite, H-BEA zeolite, HY-zeolite, iron-substituted LTL zeolite, ITQ-6, delaminated zeolite, ITQ-2 delaminated zeolite, HMS molecular sieves, montmorillonite, macroporous styrene-divinylbenzene, 4-vinylpridine-divinylbenzene, anthracene and/or carbonized-quinoline.x, y = not defined.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The step (a) comprises performing the endothermic gasification reaction with a reactant comprising at least one compound including polysaccharides, monosaccharides or polyols, preferably glycerol. The synthesis gas from step (a) is introduced directly into the reaction of step (b), absent any pre-treatment. EXAMPLE - A carbon supported platinum rhenium catalyst (9.64 g) was loaded in stainless steel reactor and reduced in flowing hydrogen before the reaction proceeds. The stainless steel reactor was heated using an aluminum block heater to maintain isothermal conditions. Then glycerol-in-water solution (70 wt.%) was fed over the catalyst at 260 degrees C and 600 psig. At these reaction conditions the feed remained in the condensed form over the catalyst bed, where 100% of the glycerol was converted, 93% of the carbon was collected in gas-phase products and 1% of the carbon was collected as an organic layer.