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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was extremely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on degraded lands throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia.
A jatropha rush ensued, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields resulted in plantation failures nearly everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, depends on cracking the yield problem and dealing with the harmful land-use concerns intertwined with its original failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been accomplished and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, a simple shrub-like tree native to Central America, was planted throughout 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 fell flat.
Now, after years of research study and development, the sole remaining big plantation focused on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha return is on.
"All those companies that stopped working, 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 [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.
Having discovered from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, reducing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some scientists are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is important to learn from past mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not just by bad yields, but by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.
Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners exploring promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, significant bust
Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came 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 several supposed virtues was an ability to flourish on abject or "marginal" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Course To Redemption
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