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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “wonder” biofuel. An tree native to Central America, it was extremely 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 led to plantation failures nearly everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, is reliant on cracking the yield problem and attending to the damaging land-use concerns linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been achieved and a brand-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 start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree native to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its guarantee 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 and advancement, the sole remaining big plantation focused on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.

“All those companies that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play model of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you require to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed out on [during the boom],” jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the errors of jatropha’s previous failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A brand-new boom could bring extra advantages, with jatropha likewise a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, noting that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is vital to find out from past mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not just by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha’s tale offers lessons for researchers and business owners checking out promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha’s early 21st-century appeal came from its pledge as a “second-generation” biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, 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 flourish on abject or “limited” lands