“…Among the many methods of chemical modification of these materials, one of the most effective processes is esterification with dicarboxylic acid anhydrides (Liu et al, 2007a, 2007b, Jiang et al, 2009, with the focus related on agricultural residues (Liu et al, 2007a(Liu et al, , 2007bSantana et al, 2010;Jiang et al, 2009;Šaeiban et al, 2008;Doczekalska et al, 2007;Tchiama et al, 2007;Karnitz Jr. et al, 2007;Gellerstedt et al, 1999). Esterification processes are normally conducted in organic solvents, such as xylene, N,N-dimethylformamide or pyridine (Doczekalska et al, 2007;Tchiama et al, 2007, Karnitz Jr. et al, 2007Gellerstedt et al, 1999), whose use can cause environmental disturbances. Nevertheless, the major problems associated with solvents are the toxic vapors in the atmosphere and the production of other volatile molecules, as well as other combustion products such as carbon dioxide, which is the main substance responsible for the greenhouse effect, causing enormous impact on the environment .…”