Process for preparing cyclododecatriene

A process for preparing cyclododecatriene, comprising:

• reacting butadiene in a solvent, in the presence of at least one catalyst system to form a crude cyclododecatriene mixture,
• wherein
• the process is continuous,
• the at least one catalyst system comprises:
• one selected from the group consisting of nickel, titanium and a mixture thereof;
• ethoxydiethylaluminum or ethylaluminum sesquichloride;
• and
• 10 to 200 ppm by mass of the reaction mixture of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of ammonia, a C1-8 alkyl primary amine and a C1-8 dialkyl secondary amine;
• the solvent comprises, before the addition of the at least one catalyst system, 10-1000 ppm by mass of a polar component of the general formula HO—R, where R is selected from the group consisting of branched and unbranched C1-C18-alkyl, C1-C18-cycloalkyl, C1-C18-aryl, C1-C18-aralkyl and H, and
• a temperature of the butadiene reaction is less than or equal to 140° C. in the case of a nickel catalyst system and less than or equal to 80° C. in the case of a titanium catalyst system.