Acetalization of glycerol with ketones and aldehydes catalyzed by high silica Hβ zeolite

•High silica Hβ zeolite acts as an effective heterogeneous and transition metal-free catalyst for acetalization of glycerol.•This catalyst system is applicable to acetalization of glycerol with various ketones/aldehydes and recyclable without significant loss of its activity.•The high efficiency is attributed to the tailored hydrophobic nature of the catalyst surface, a sufficient number of accessible acid sites, and a larger pore size.