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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might 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 led to plantation failures almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they say, is dependent on breaking the yield issue and resolving the harmful land-use issues linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree native 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 failed.

Now, after years of research study and advancement, the sole staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha comeback is on.

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

Having gained from the errors of jatropha's past failures, he states the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A brand-new boom might bring fringe benefits, with jatropha also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is important to gain from past errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners checking out promising new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous supposed virtues was an ability to flourish on abject or "minimal" lands