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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on abject lands throughout 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 everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations 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 splitting the yield problem and dealing with the damaging land-use problems intertwined with its original failure.
The large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial 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 throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its pledge as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on degraded, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.

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

"All those companies that failed, adopted 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 [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom might bring additional benefits, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is necessary to learn from past mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

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

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from turfs, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous supposed virtues was a capability to grow on abject or "marginal" lands