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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded 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 nearly all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, is dependent on splitting the yield issue and dealing with the harmful land-use issues intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across 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 failed.

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

"All those business that failed, adopted a plug-and-play model of hunting for the wild varieties 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 Mongabay in an interview.

Having found out from the errors of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant could yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A boom could bring extra advantages, with jatropha also a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is necessary to gain from previous errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not just by poor yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also 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's early 21st-century appeal came from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from yards, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was an ability to flourish on degraded or "marginal" lands