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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could grow on abject 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 caused plantation failures almost everywhere. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations 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, is reliant on splitting the yield issue and addressing the harmful land-use issues linked with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains 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 return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds important lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the start of the 21st century, Jatropha curcas, an unassuming 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 might be grown on broken down, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields failed.
Now, after years of research and development, the sole remaining large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.
"All those business that failed, adopted a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This belongs of the process that was missed [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.
Having gained from the errors of jatropha's previous failures, he states the oily plant might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transport carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom could bring additional benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some scientists are hesitant, noting that jatropha has currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full potential, then it is vital to gain from past errors. 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 suggest that jatropha's tale offers lessons for scientists and business owners exploring promising new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, significant bust
Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came from its guarantee as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was an ability to grow on degraded or "minimal" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Path To Redemption
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