TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Process: The method alternately involves providing an input starting material, optionally with a carrier fluid, residing fluid mixture in a primary reactor assembly in the presence of a primary catalyst at primary temperature under primary pressure for primary time, such that the primary catalyst promotes decarbonylation, and a fluid stream of decarbonylated material is produced, adding hydrogen to the fluid stream of decarbonylated material and residing the resulting mixture in a secondary reactor assembly in the presence of a secondary catalyst at secondary temperature under secondary pressure for secondary time such that the secondary catalyst promotes hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis, and collecting the product mixture.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Composition: The catalyst further comprises a support containing silica, alumina, titania, zirconia or carbon. The catalyst comprises copper, zinc, iron, nickel and cobalt, and does not contain chromium. The secondary reactor does not contain hydrogen. The secondary catalyst comprises a metal which promotes decarbonylation.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Composition: The input starting material comprises a carrier fluid chosen from water vapor, organic solvent, inert gas and supercritical fluid. The molar ratio of hydrogen gas to input material is 0.1-250. The volumetric ratio of carrier fluid to furfural or hydroxymethylfurfural is 0-10. The product mixture comprises furfuryl alcohol, 1-butanol, furan, tetrahydrofuran, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 2-pentanone, 1-pentene, 2-pentene, acetone, 2-propanol, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, 1,5-pentanediol, valerolactone, caprolactone, furan-2,5-dimethanol, 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran, 2,5- dihydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran, 2,5-dimethylfuran or 1,6-hexanediol. Preferred Conditions: The temperature (T) is 20-300 degrees C. The time (t), expressed as Liquid Hourly Space Velocity, is 0.1-10 hours-1. The pressure (P) is 0.5-100 atm.