an apparatus which is capable of supporting a process for gasifying a variety of hydrocarbon - containing materials . the resulting hydrogen - containing gas is suitable for use in various combustion processes and for petrochemical processes . a hydrocarbon - containing material is mixed with natural gas under pressure . the suspended material and gas are then injected under pressure into an acceleration / gasification tube . intense heat is applied to the mixture as it travels through this tube , resulting in the cracking of the hydrocarbon chains and the release of additional energy . the released bond energy , along with the addition of the external energy , rapidly expands the gas and causes the velocity of the moving mixture to rise sharply as it proceeds down the tube . the acceleration / gasification tube is connected to a diffuser , which is essentially an expansion nozzle with a series of heat exchangers to cool the rapidly expanding gas . an evacuation pump is attached to the diffuser to extract the cooled gas and maintain flow in the system .