Patent ID: 8637668

Claim:
A process for preparing a cyclic tertiary methylamine of the formula I where A is a C 4 -alkylene group, a C 5 -alkylene group or a —(CH 2 ) 2 —B—(CH 2 ) 2 — group, where B is oxygen (O) or an N—R 1 radical and R 1 is C 1 -C 5 -alkyl, aryl or C 5 -C 7 -cycloalkyl, wherein (i) an amino alcohol II from the group consisting of 1,4-aminobutanol, 1,5-aminopentanol, aminodiglycol (ADG) or aminoethylethanolamine of the formula IIa where R 1 is as defined above or is hydrogen (H), in which case R 1 =CH 3 in the amine I, is reacted with methanol in a reactor at a temperature in the range from 150 to 270° C. in the liquid phase in the presence of a copper-comprising heterogeneous catalyst.