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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could 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 resulted in plantation failures nearly everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations 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, depends on splitting the yield problem and resolving the harmful land-use issues linked with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start 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 might be grown on broken down, 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 remaining big plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha return is on.

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

Having learned from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant might yet play an essential role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom might bring additional advantages, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are skeptical, 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 important to gain from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by bad yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in countries where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

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

Miracle shrub, major 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 originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was a capability to flourish on degraded or "marginal" lands