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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded 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 nearly everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the incredibly elusive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, is dependent on cracking the yield problem and attending to the damaging land-use concerns linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been achieved 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 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 was driven by its promise as a sustainable source of biofuel that could 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 and advancement, the sole staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha comeback is on.

"All those business that failed, embraced a plug-and-play design of hunting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This belongs of the procedure that was missed out on [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

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

But some scientists are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is vital to gain from past errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by poor yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale offers lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs exploring appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge 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 several supposed virtues was an ability to flourish on abject or "minimal" lands