An isomerization catalyst rearranges the carbon skeleton of a hydrocarbon. It does not change the formula and it does not change the molecular weight. Straight-chain paraffins go in and branched paraffins come out, and the payoff is either a higher octane number or a lower pour point. The industrial grades run on platinum, on sulfated zirconia or on zeolites. None of them can beat the thermodynamic equilibrium limit of the reaction, and none of them ever will. Temperatures in the tables below are given in degrees Celsius and pressures in megapascals. What isomerization actually changes about a molecule Isomerization is an internal rearrangement. Nothing comes in, nothing goes out. The…