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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was extremely 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 resulted in plantation failures almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations 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 state, depends on splitting the yield issue and dealing with the damaging land-use concerns intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds important 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 pledge 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 remaining large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those business that stopped working, embraced a plug-and-play model of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require 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 previous failures, he states the oily plant could yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is vital to gain from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by bad yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners exploring promising new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major bust

Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several purported virtues was a capability to thrive on abject or "minimal" lands