In-situ gasification of soot contained in exothermically generated syngas stream

An apparatus for exothermic generation of syngas comprising:

• a partial oxidation (PDX) reactor to exothermically generate syngas, wherein the POX reactor comprises:
• a first reactor for reacting the hydrocarbon-containing fuel with an oxygen containing gas to produce the syngas and byproducts comprising CO2, H2O, and soot;
• a second reactor within the POX for receiving the syngas and byproducts and containing a non-carbonaceous material that traps the soot for a sufficient time such that a majority of the byproduct soot is gasified via reaction with the byproduct CO2 or both CO2 and H2O to produce a syngas stream that is depleted in the soot;
• an element configured to add a fluid to the syngas and byproducts produced by the partial oxidation reactor prior to the second reactor receiving the syngas and byproducts;
• and
• wherein the non-carbonaceous material comprises substantially spherical particles of alumina and is configured to operate at a steady state to maintain a substantially constant amount of soot trapped therein as a rate at which soot is gasified equals a rate at which soot is trapped.