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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might 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 caused plantation failures almost all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, is reliant on splitting the yield problem and dealing with the harmful land-use issues linked with its original failure.
The sole staying large jatropha curcas plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have been accomplished and a 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 beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its promise 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 failed.

Now, after years of research study and advancement, the sole staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha comeback is on.

"All those business that failed, adopted a plug-and-play design of hunting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require 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 found out from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he states the oily plant might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, lowering transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A new boom might bring additional advantages, with jatropha also a potential 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 necessary to gain from previous mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by bad yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts also recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners exploring appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from yards, trees and other plants not obtained from such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was an ability to prosper on abject or "minimal" lands