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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a “miracle” biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly 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 almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the incredibly elusive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they say, depends on splitting the yield issue and attending to the damaging land-use problems linked with its original failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, 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, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its pledge as a sustainable source of biofuel that might 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 and development, the sole staying large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha comeback 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 need to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed [during the boom],” jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having learned from the mistakes of jatropha’s past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a crucial function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete capacity, then it is important to discover from past mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by bad yields, but 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 uses 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 originated 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 supposed virtues was a capability to flourish on abject or “minimal” lands