Process for producing cyclopentadiene or derivatives thereof and apparatus for the same, and process for producing metallocenes or derivatives thereof

A process for producing cyclopentadiene or a derivative thereof by heating at least one compound which is dicyclopentadiene or a derivative thereof represented by formula (1) to produce cyclopentadiene or a derivative thereof represented by formula (2), the process comprising:

• a first step comprising heating the compound into vapor;
• a second step comprising maintaining while heating the vapor at a temperature higher than the boiling point of the desired cyclopentadiene or a derivative thereof to thereby condense and remove high boiling components and simultaneously collect residual vapor;
• and
• a third step comprising removing low boiling impurities from the collected residual vapor by maintaining while heating the collected vapor at a temperature lower than the boiling point of the desired cyclopentadiene or derivative thereof to thereby condense and collect the cyclopentadiene or derivative thereof without condensing low boiling impurities:
• Formula (1)
• wherein a substituent group R represents a hydrogen atom, or a hydrocarbon, amino, carboxyl or ether group;
• Formula (2)
• wherein a substituent group R is as defined above.