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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded lands throughout 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 nearly everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on breaking the yield issue and resolving the harmful land-use problems intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been achieved and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start 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 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 development, the sole remaining large 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 stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching 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 informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having found out from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he states the oily plant could yet play an essential role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, lowering transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A brand-new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers 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 complete potential, then it is important to gain from past mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by poor yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries 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 originated from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from turfs, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several supposed virtues was a capability to grow on degraded or "minimal" lands