However, these processes do have
a disadvantage in that they require an additional step which is the
saccharification of the lignocellulose materials, a more difficult
stage than the direct use of the sucrose, as in the case of sugar cane
or the saccharification of corn starch. For the production of ethanol
as an alcoholic beverage, several plant raw materials have been
exploited over the centuries, including the agaves, which in México
have been used to produce fermented drinks and Tequila. In the region
of Yucatán, an agave species has already been put to industrial
use and can also be used to produce ethanol. Henequen (Agave forucroydes
Lem.) is a plant belonging to the Agavacea family which is
cultivated in the northern region of the Yucatán peninsula and has
been used since the Mayan era to obtain natural fibers from its
leaves. This crop contributed to the economic importance of the region
in the early 20th century, but its industrial exploitation began