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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was extremely 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 led to plantation failures nearly everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they say, is reliant on breaking the yield problem and attending to the harmful land-use issues intertwined with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha 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 resurgence 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, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha curcas 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 advancement, the sole staying large plantation focused on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those companies that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play design of hunting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

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

But some researchers are doubtful, 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 gain from past errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by bad yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in countries where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

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

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came from its guarantee as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from lawns, trees and other plants not originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was an ability to flourish on degraded or "marginal" lands