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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was hugely 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 caused plantation failures almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is reliant on splitting the yield issue and attending to the hazardous land-use concerns linked with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming 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 could be grown on deteriorated, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.

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

"All those companies that failed, embraced a plug-and-play model of hunting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs 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 previous failures, he says the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the international level. A brand-new boom might bring extra advantages, with jatropha likewise a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are doubtful, keeping in mind that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is vital to discover from previous errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by poor yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also suggest that jatropha's tale uses lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs exploring promising new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from turfs, trees and other plants not obtained from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was an ability to thrive on degraded or "limited" lands