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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 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 almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is reliant on cracking the yield issue and dealing with the hazardous land-use issues intertwined with its original failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback fails, 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 curcas was driven by its promise 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 return is on.

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

Having discovered from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he states the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the international level. A new boom might bring additional advantages, with jatropha also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, 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 necessary to learn from past mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

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

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its guarantee as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several supposed virtues was a capability to thrive on degraded or "minimal" lands