Pyrolysis product compression

A hydrocarbon pyrolysis process, the process comprising:

• (a) providing a feed, a fuel, first and second working fluids, a tubular flow-through reactor, a power generator, and a process gas compressor, wherein
• (i) the feed comprises hydrocarbon, the first working fluid comprises oxidant, and at least a portion of the second working fluid is liquid,
• (ii) the flow-through reactor has an internal volume, and
• (iii) the power generator includes a compressor stage, a combustion stage, first and second expansion stages, and a heat transfer stage;
• (b) producing a process gas by establishing a flow of the feed into the internal volume of the flow-through reactor, and pyrolysing at least a portion of the feed in the internal volume under pyrolysis conditions, to produce a flow of a process gas comprising light olefin;
• (c) generating first and second shaft powers by at least:
• (i) establishing a flow of the first working fluid to the compressor stage and compressing the first working fluid in the compressor stage;
• (ii) establishing a flow of the fuel to the combustion stage and combusting in the combustion stage at least a portion of the fuel with at least a portion of the compressed working fluid's oxidant to produce a heated effluent;
• (iii) expanding the heated effluent in the first expansion stage to produce a decompressed effluent and the first shaft power, wherein the heated effluent is not subjected to an indirect heat transfer with the feed prior to the expanding in this step (c)(iii);
• (iv) transferring heat from the decompressed effluent to the second working fluid in the heat transfer stage to vaporize at least a portion of the second working fluid wherein the decompressed effluent is not subjected to an indirect heat transfer with the feed prior to the transferring in this step (c)(iv);
• (v) expanding at least a portion of the vaporized second working fluid in the second expansion stage to produce the second shaft power;
• and
• (d) transferring to the process gas compressor at least part of the first shaft power and at least part of the second shaft power to compress at least a portion of the process gas.