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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 took place, 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 aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on splitting the yield problem and dealing with the harmful land-use problems intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple 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 might 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 study and advancement, the sole remaining large plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha return is on.

"All those business that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs of the process that was missed [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told in an interview.

Having learned from the errors of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, reducing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is necessary to discover from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

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

Miracle shrub, significant 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 originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several purported virtues was an ability to prosper on abject or "limited" lands