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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on abject lands across 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 led to plantation failures almost 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 evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is reliant on breaking the yield issue and dealing with the harmful land-use concerns intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial 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 pledge as a sustainable source of biofuel that could be grown on broken down, 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, declares the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those companies that failed, embraced a plug-and-play model of scouting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize 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 gained from the errors of jatropha's previous failures, he states the oily plant might yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom might bring additional benefits, with jatropha also a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are doubtful, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is important to discover from past errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in countries where it was planted, including 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, significant bust

jatropha curcas's early 21st-century appeal stemmed 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 thrive on abject or "limited" lands