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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree native 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 resulted in 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 guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on breaking the yield problem and dealing with the hazardous land-use concerns intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges 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 start 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 guarantee 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 advancement, the sole remaining large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha resurgence is on.
"All those companies that failed, embraced a plug-and-play design of searching for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed [throughout the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian informed Mongabay in an interview.
Having gained from the errors of jatropha's past failures, he states the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom could bring additional benefits, with jatropha also a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some scientists are hesitant, noting that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is essential to gain from previous mistakes. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not just by poor yields, but by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.
Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale offers lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs checking out appealing new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, major bust
Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal stemmed from its guarantee as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from grasses, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple supposed virtues was a capability to thrive on degraded or "limited" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Course To Redemption
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