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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 abject 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 caused plantation failures almost everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the incredibly elusive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A comeback, they state, depends on breaking the yield problem and resolving the damaging land-use problems intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have actually been attained and a brand-new boom is at hand. But even if this comeback fails, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any appealing up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning 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 deteriorated, 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 big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha return is on.
"All those business that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play model of searching for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to advertise it, you need to domesticate it. This is a part of the procedure that was missed out on [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 could yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, minimizing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A brand-new boom might bring fringe benefits, with jatropha curcas also a prospective source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some researchers are skeptical, keeping in mind that jatropha has already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach complete capacity, then it is vital to discover from previous errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hampered not only by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in countries where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil runs.
Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale uses lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs 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 yards, trees and other plants not derived from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its numerous purported virtues was a capability to grow on abject or "limited" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Course To Redemption
Ralph Alden edited this page 6 days ago