If you liked this story, share it with other individuals.

Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree native to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that might grow on abject lands across 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 caused plantation failures almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they say, depends on cracking the yield problem and addressing the damaging land-use problems intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have been accomplished and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds important 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 guarantee 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 fell flat.

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

"All those companies that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs of the procedure that was missed out on [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A brand-new boom might bring additional benefits, with jatropha likewise a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are skeptical, noting that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is necessary to learn from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social problems in countries where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.

Experts also suggest that jatropha's tale offers lessons for researchers and business owners exploring appealing 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 several purported virtues was a capability to thrive on degraded or "minimal" lands