A study of the influence of different catalysts on glycerol etherification with benzyl alcohol was performed. The best catalyst was selected based on activity and selectivity values. Experimental results were obtained at different reactant molar ratios (benzyl alcohol/glycerol = 3:1-1:3), temperatures (80-100 degrees C), and catalyst concentrations (3.45-14.4 wt %) referred to the reaction mass. Four ethers (two monoethers and two diethers) and dibenzyl ether were identified as the main products of glycerol etherification and dimerization of benzyl alcohol (secondary reaction), respectively. Two kinetic models are proposed to describe the process performance: a potential model and an Eley-Rideal model. Kinetic parameters for each model were estimated by data fitting. Both proposed kinetic models describe the evolution of the system properly, in terms of not only the reactants but also the product distribution with reaction time under the conditions studied. To carry out the reaction with nonpurified glycerol, the reaction system must first be neutralized.