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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on degraded 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 almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, is dependent on breaking the yield problem and dealing with the damaging land-use issues linked with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential 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 promise 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 failed.

Now, after years of research study and development, the sole staying large plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha resurgence is on.

"All those companies that failed, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the process that was missed out on [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, reducing transport carbon emissions at the international level. A new boom could bring extra benefits, with jatropha also a prospective 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 warn that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is important to learn from past mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs exploring appealing 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 turfs, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was an ability to prosper on abject or "marginal" lands