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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree native to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded lands across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush occurred, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields resulted in plantation failures nearly all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they say, is dependent on cracking the yield issue and addressing the hazardous land-use problems intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple 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 broken down, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.

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

"All those companies that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed out on [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having learned from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a crucial function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom could bring extra advantages, with jatropha likewise a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are skeptical, noting that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is vital to gain from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not just by poor yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale uses lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs checking out appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal stemmed from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from yards, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was a capability to flourish on degraded or "limited" lands