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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “wonder” biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was hugely 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 led to plantation failures nearly everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha curcas crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, depends on breaking the yield problem and attending to the harmful land-use problems linked with its original failure.
The sole remaining large 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 resurgence fails, the world’s experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start 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 promise as a sustainable source of biofuel that might 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 staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha comeback is on.

“All those business that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed [throughout 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 might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport 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 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 capacity, then it is necessary to gain from past mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by bad yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha’s tale uses lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs checking out promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha’s early 21st-century appeal originated from its guarantee 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 several supposed virtues was an ability to prosper on degraded or “marginal” lands