TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The feed stream comprises greater than or equal to50 wt.% isopentane. The feed stream comprises less than 0.5 wt.% of an olefin of one or more lower molecular weight paraffins based on the total weight of the stream. The feed stream comprises isopentane. The support component comprises silica. The product stream comprises isobutane, isopentane, normal pentane, or isohexanes. The fourth product stream comprises greater than or equal to3 vol.% of normal pentane. The feed stream further comprises less than 1 wt.% of greater than or equal to6C hydrocarbons per molecule based on the total weight of the stream. Preferred Process: The contacting step occurs in a fixed bed disproportionation reactor (18) at 150-425degreesF. The process further comprises subjecting at least a portion of the product stream to a separation zone (14) to produce a second product stream comprising isobutane and a third product stream comprising isopentane, normal pentane and isohexanes; subjecting at least a portion of the third product stream in a second separation zone to produce a fourth product stream comprising isopentane and a fifth product stream comprising normal pentane and isohexanes; combining at least a portion of the fourth product stream with the feed stream prior to the contacting step; and subjecting at least a portion of the fifth product stream in a third separation zone to produce a sixth product stream comprising normal pentane and a seventh product stream comprising isohexanes. Preferred Composition: The weight ratio of the catalyst component to the support component in the catalyst composition is 1:3-10:1. EXAMPLE - A disproportionation catalyst was prepared by combining 20 grams of ground aluminum chloride (20 g), Davison SI 1102(RTM: silica dioxide) (15 g), and toluene (200 ml) to form a slurry. The slurry was refluxed at 390degreesF for 3 hours. Excess aluminum chloride was removed by decanting the slurry and extracting the remaining mixture with methylene chloride. The resulting material was then dried in a vacuum oven to a dark red color. The prepared catalyst composition was tested for effectiveness as an isopentane disproportionation catalyst. Disproportionation catalyst (11.8 g) was charged to a fixed bed, downflow reactor and contacted with an isopentane feed stream (10 mL/hr) at 300degreesF and 400 psig. An average isopentane conversion over 5 hours of total on-stream time was 47.6%. This demonstrated that the supported solid aluminum was effective as an isopentane disproportionation catalyst.