Solvent-free Isomerization of 3-carene to 2-carene using Na/o-chlorotoluene Catalyst in trans-isolimonene Production

Trans-isolimonene is one of the important compound in drugs development. This compound can be made by isomerization of inexpensive 3-carene via 2-carene using Na/o-chlorotoluene catalyst in xylene. The existence of xylene as a solvent requires a further separation process that can reduce the efficiency when applied in the bulk industry. The isomerization of 3-carene to 2-carene has been studied in solvent free reaction compared by isomerization without xylene solvent. The result showed that the isomerization can also occur in solvent-free condition. Solvent-free isomerization gave 27.72% of conversion and 83.27% of selectivity while isomerization with solvent gave 23.59% of conversion and 86.87% of selectivity.