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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on abject lands across 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 resulted in plantation failures almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted 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 reliant on breaking the yield issue and dealing with the hazardous land-use problems intertwined with its original failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained 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 appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across 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 study and development, the sole staying large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha return is on.

"All those companies that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed out on [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

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

But some researchers are hesitant, noting that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete capacity, then it is important to learn from past mistakes. During the very first boom, were hindered not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also suggest that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners 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 grasses, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was a capability to thrive on degraded or "minimal" lands