Patent ID: 8759280

Claim:
A process for preparing trimethylcyclododecatriene, comprising: first charging a solvent comprising 15-1000 ppm of a polar component to a reactor; charging a catalyst system and at least one organometallic compound to the reactor charged with a solvent comprising 15-1000 ppm of a polar compound; heating the charged reactor to a reaction temperature; admitting isoprene to the heated charged reactor; and reacting the isoprene in the presence of the solvent, catalyst system and at least one organometallic compound to obtain a product mixture comprising trimethylcyclododecatriene, wherein a yield of the trimethylcyclododecatriene is greater than 65% of a theoretical yield calculated on a mass of isoprene admitted to the reactor, the product mixture comprises linear C15 oligomers and a ratio of trimethylcyclododecatriene to the linear C15 oligomers is greater than or equal to 10:1, the catalyst system comprises nickel, titanium or a mixture thereof, a compound containing at least one element of main group 5 of the Periodic Table of the Elements is added to the catalyst system, the polar component is represented by formula (I) HO—R (I) wherein R is selected from the group consisting of branched and unbranched C 1 -C 18 -alkyl, C 1 -C 18 -cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 18 -aryl, C 1 -C 18 -aralkyl and H, and the reaction temperature, in the case of a nickel-containing catalyst system, is less than or equal to 140° C. and, in the case of a titanium-containing catalyst system, is less than or equal to 80° C.