The invention relates to a process for production of a mixture comprising hydrogen
and CO by partial oxidation of a hydrocarbon by an oxygenated medium, according
to which the processing is carried out under autothermal conditions with the heat
given off by said oxidation being recovered to maintain the endo-thermic reactions
which take place between the non-oxidized fraction of said hydrocarbon and the
CO2 and the steam produced by said oxidation, being characterized in
that the reaction gas mixture comprising the hydrocarbon and the oxygenated medium
is passed through a porous medium (4) which has been preheated beforehand,
thus making it possible to heat the reaction gas mixture by heat exchange with
the porous medium to a temperature threshold sufficient to initiate combustion
reactions, rendering unnecessary an external heat supply when operating continuously.
