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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree native to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on abject lands across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush ensued, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields caused plantation failures almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they say, depends on breaking the yield problem and addressing the damaging land-use concerns linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its guarantee as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on degraded, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.

Now, after years of research and development, the sole staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha return is on.

"All those companies that failed, embraced a plug-and-play model of hunting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed out on [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having found out from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he states the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom could bring additional advantages, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is important to gain from previous mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts also recommend that jatropha's tale offers lessons for scientists and business owners checking out appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several purported virtues was a capability to grow on abject or "limited" lands