Plans for a new cellulosic ethanol research and demonstration plant to be built by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are being revamped for a location closer to Gainesville.

IFAS officials announced that they have modified their agreement for the plant, which originally was slated to be built at a Florida Crystals site in Okeelanta, Fla. The new plans call for a smaller facility, which will better meet the $20 million budget allocated by the Florida Legislature. In addition, a location closer to UF will help draw upon the expertise of the university’s faculty and staff to expedite next-generation ethanol technology.

The plant will now focus on new parallel processes that produce cellulosic ethanol as well as organic acid co-products in the form of plastics. The plant will also experiment with a wider variety of feedstocks, including forest products, various types of sugarcane, sugar processing byproducts and many others.