Process for making perillyl alcohol

A process for making perillyl alcohol is disclosed. The process comprises isomerizing a starting material comprising trans-isocarveol at a temperature within the range of 100° C. to 220° C. in the presence of a Group 5 metal catalyst to produce perillyl alcohol. We surprisingly found that trans-isocarveol, which can be selectively produced from a commercially available mixture of cis- and trans-LMO, can be isomerized directly to perillyl alcohol. Yields of perillyl alcohol are improved when the isomerization is performed under an inert atmosphere and/or in the presence of a phenolic antioxidant. Performing the isomerization in the presence of a high-boiling alcohol and/or distilling the perillyl alcohol product from the reaction mixture in the presence of a high-boiling alcohol, enhances yields and maximizes catalyst use. The resulting distillation residue, which contains recovered Group 5 metal catalyst, is valuable for catalyzing additional trans-isocarveol isomerizations.