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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree native to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on abject lands across 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 all over. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations 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, is dependent on cracking the yield issue and addressing the harmful land-use issues linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds crucial lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree native to Central America, was planted across the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its guarantee as a sustainable source of biofuel that could be grown on deteriorated, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields failed.

Now, after years of research study and advancement, the sole staying big 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 searching for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, noting that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is essential to learn from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs exploring promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came from its guarantee 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 several purported virtues was an ability to prosper on degraded or "marginal" lands