TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The catalytically active metal is nickel, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, copper, chromium, zinc, neodymium, molybdenum, manganese, vanadium, niobium technetium, cadmium, rhenium, osmium, iridium, mercury, tungsten, cobalt, palladium, silver or gold. The catalyst also contains a catalytically active oxide comprising of chromium, zinc, neodymium, molybdenum, manganese, vanadium, niobium technetium, cadmium, rhenium, osmium, iridium, mercury, tungsten, cobalt, palladium, silver or gold. The catalyst contains more than one: catalyst promoters; catalytically active metals; and catalytically active oxides. The catalyst includes a coating on the internal surfaces of the reactor channel. The catalyst is a packed bed catalyst. The catalyst is an unsupported catalyst or a supported catalyst. The catalyst support is an oxide comprising of oxides of aluminum, magnesium, cerium, zirconium, lanthanum, silicon, neodymium, vanadium or titanium. The catalyst support comprises more than one of oxides. The membrane is palladium, vanadium or their alloys.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Components: The reactor comprises: a housing including a bonded stack of plates featuring passageways which define a heating stream channel and a reaction channel; a heat transfer wall separating the heating stream channel and the reaction channel, where the heating stream channel is adapted to receive a heating stream so that heat is provided to the reaction channel through the heat transfer wall; and a catalyst positioned in the reaction channel, where the reaction channel is adapted to receive a reaction stream including a mixture of supercritical water and a hydrocarbon fuel so that hydrogen is produced in the reaction channel. The heating stream channel contains a combustion catalyst so that combustion occurs in it when the heating stream is received. The heating stream channel includes an auxiliary electric heating arrangement. The reaction channel is perpendicular to the heating stream channel and the hydrogen channel. The system further comprises: a separator so that hydrogen is separated from the process stream; a heat exchanger (310) in circuit between the reactor and the separator, where the heat exchanger warms the product stream from the reactor before it enters the separator; and a desulfurization device having an input adapted to receive the reaction stream and an outlet in communication with the reactor so that a desulfurized reaction stream is provided to the reactor. The separator includes a membrane, where the membrane is supported on a porous plate. The separator is a component separate from the reactor, where the separator is achieved by a pressure swing adsorption process. The separator is incorporated within the reactor. The reactor further comprises a hydrogen channel positioned so that it is adjacent to the process channel and the separator is positioned between the reaction channel and hydrogen channel so that hydrogen from the product stream is passed through the separator into the hydrogen channel. The separator produces a non-hydrogen stream and further comprises a gas separator that receives the non-hydrogen stream so that a gas stream and a water stream are produced.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The hydrocarbon fuel: is a gas comprising of natural gas, components of natural gas or other gaseous hydrocarbons; is a liquid comprising of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, crude oil or other liquid fuels; or is a solid comprising of coal or biomass.