Thermal decomposition in chemical looping combustion

A process for thermally cracking one or more C2-C8 hydrocarbons comprising integrating a chemical looping combustion reaction with a steam cracker comprising:

• passing a moving bed of reduced inorganic particulates having a melting temperature greater than 1500° C. and a particle size from 10 to 300 microns through an oxidation reactor at a temperature from 300° C. to 1200° C. for a period of time less than 2 minutes at a gas hourly space velocity for an oxidant from 500 hr−1 to 6000 hr−1, and a weight hourly space velocity from 0.5 to 60, wherein not less than 20 wt % of said reduced inorganic particulates passing through said oxidation reactor are oxidized to produce oxidized inorganic particulates;
• passing said oxidized inorganic particulates to and through a moving bed in a fuel reactor together with a fuel in the absence of a gaseous oxidant for a period of time of less than 2 minutes at a gas hourly space velocity for the fuel from 500 hr−1 to 6000 hr−1, and a weight hourly space velocity from 0.5 to 60, to substantially burn the fuel and any surface carbon on the oxidized inorganic particulates and reduce the oxidized inorganic particulates and heat them to a temperature from 1000° C. to 1200° C. to produce heated reduced inorganic particulates;
• passing said heated reduced inorganic particulates as a moving bed through at least a portion of a dehydrogenation reactor, concurrently or counter-currently, optionally with steam and one or more alkanes at a temperature from 750° C. to 1200° C. for a period of time less than 2 minutes at a gas hourly space velocity for the one or more alkanes from 500 hr−1 to 6000 hr−1, and a weight hourly space velocity from 0.5 to 60, to produce a product stream comprising:
• H2, one or more olefins, steam, and mixtures of alkynes, aromatics, di-olefins, heavy hydrocarbons and coke;
• and
• passing the reduced inorganic particulates from said dehydrogenation reactor to said oxidation reactor.