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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 could grow on abject lands across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush took place, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields led to plantation failures almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha curcas crash was tainted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is reliant on splitting the yield problem and dealing with the hazardous land-use issues linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha curcas plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial 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 promise 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 failed.

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

"All those companies that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play design of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs of the procedure that was missed [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the errors of jatropha's previous failures, he states the oily plant might yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom could bring additional benefits, with jatropha likewise a prospective 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 caution that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is necessary to discover from past mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

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

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal stemmed from its pledge 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 multiple supposed virtues was an ability to grow on abject or "limited" lands