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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “miracle” biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on degraded lands throughout 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 nearly all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, depends on cracking the yield problem and addressing the damaging land-use issues linked with its original failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence 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 native 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 degraded, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields fell flat.

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

"All those business that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise 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 learned from the mistakes of jatropha’s past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a crucial function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, lowering transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A brand-new boom could bring additional benefits, with jatropha likewise a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, noting that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is vital to discover from past errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also suggest that jatropha’s tale offers lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs exploring promising new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha’s early 21st-century appeal came from its guarantee as a “second-generation” biofuel, which are sourced from lawns, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was a capability to grow on degraded or “marginal” lands