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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on degraded 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 resulted in plantation failures almost everywhere. The after-effects of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they say, is dependent on splitting the yield problem and addressing the damaging land-use concerns intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have been accomplished 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 beginning of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted across the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its pledge 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 study and development, the sole staying large plantation concentrated 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 design of hunting for the wild ranges of jatropha curcas. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This belongs of the procedure that was missed out on [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having discovered from the errors of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a crucial function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the international level. A brand-new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are hesitant, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is vital 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 issues in countries where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale uses lessons for scientists 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 stemmed from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from lawns, trees and other plants not obtained from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous supposed virtues was an ability to thrive on degraded or "limited" lands