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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 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 almost all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on breaking the yield problem and addressing the hazardous land-use issues linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback 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, an unassuming 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 concentrated on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those companies that failed, embraced a plug-and-play design of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having found out from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a crucial role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, lowering transport carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom might bring extra advantages, with jatropha also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is important to gain from previous errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in countries where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also recommend that jatropha's tale offers lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs checking out appealing 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 turfs, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was a capability to prosper on degraded or "minimal" lands