High purity dicyclopentadiene

Claim 1

A PROCESS OF OBTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY PURE DICYCLOPENTADIENE FROM A STOCK COMPRISING DICYCLOPENTADIENE AND IMPURITIES AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH IS OF A CLASS CONSISTING OF STYLENE, COUMARONE AND INDENE WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES CONTINUOUSLY FEEDING LIQUID STCOK FORWARDLY THROUGH AN ELONGATED TUBE HEATED TO A TEMPERATURE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE CRACKING POINT OF DICYCLOPENTADIENE IN ORDER QUICKLY TO VAPORIZE THE STOCK AND CRACK THE DICYCLOPENTADIENE, THEN QUICKLY DISCHARGING THE VAPOR MIXTURE INTO AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF A VERTICALLY ELONGATED ZONE, THE ZONE AT SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING AT A TEMPERATURE WITHIN A RANGE OF 575 TO 800* F., THE UPPER PORTION OF THE ZONE BEING MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 110 TO 200 F., THE LOWER PORTION OF THE ZONE BEING MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 300 TO 400* F., WITHDRAWING THE CYCLOPENTADIENE VAPORS FROM THE UPPER PART OF THE VERTICALLY ELONGATED ZONE, THEN CONDENSING AS A SHOWER OF ESING A PART OF THE CONDENSATE AS A SHOWER OF ESSENTIALLY PURE LIQUID CYCLOPENTADIENE TO THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID ZONE TO MAINTAIN SAID TEMPERATURE 110 TO 200* F. AND STORING THE REMAINING SAID TEMPERATIONS OF THE CONDENSATE AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 200* F. WHEREBY TO POLYMERIZE THE CYCLOPENTADIENE TO DICYCLOPENTADIENE, THEN DRAWING OFF THE RESULTANT MIXTURE OF CYCLOPENTADIENE AND DICYCLOPENTADIENE FROM THE POLYMERIZATION ZONE.