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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could 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 everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is dependent on cracking the yield problem and resolving the harmful land-use issues intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have been accomplished and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence fails, the world's experience of jatropha curcas holds essential 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 promise 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 failed.

Now, after years of research study and development, the sole remaining big plantation concentrated on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those business that failed, adopted a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed [throughout 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 key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom might bring additional advantages, with jatropha also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are doubtful, keeping in mind that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is vital to gain from previous mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs checking out appealing 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 turfs, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous supposed virtues was a capability to thrive on abject or "minimal" lands