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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" 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 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 all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they say, is dependent on cracking the yield issue and dealing with the damaging land-use problems intertwined with its original failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have been achieved and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its guarantee as a sustainable source of biofuel that could be grown on broken down, 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 remaining big 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 failed, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed out on [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a crucial function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom could bring extra benefits, with jatropha likewise a prospective 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 necessary to gain from past errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

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

Miracle shrub, significant bust

jatropha curcas's early 21st-century appeal stemmed from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from yards, trees and other plants not obtained from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was a capability to flourish on abject or "minimal" lands