Aromatic Isomerization Catalyst and Isomerization Process

A process for isomerizing a non-equilibrium C8 aromatic feed to provide an isomerized product, comprising:

• A) contacting the non-equilibrium C8 aromatic feed with an extruded C8 alkylaromatic isomerization catalyst, wherein the extruded catalyst comprises:
• 1) about 2-about 20%, by weight, of an MTW zeolite;
• 2) about 80-about 98%, by weight, of a binder comprising an alumina;
• 3) about 0.01-about 2.00%, by weight, of a noble group metal calculated on an elemental basis;
• and
• 4) about 100 ppm-less than about 1000 ppm, by weight, of at least one alkali metal calculated on an elemental basis;
• wherein the weight percents of the MTW zeolite, the binder, the noble group metal, and at least one alkali metal are based on a weight of the extruded catalyst;
• and
• B) providing the isomerized product having a C8 ring loss of no more than about 2.5.