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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "miracle" biofuel. An unassuming shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was wildly promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could 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 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 incredibly elusive promise of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on cracking the yield problem and dealing with the damaging land-use concerns intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole staying large jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner claims high-yield domesticated ranges have actually been achieved and a new boom is at hand. But even if this return falters, the world's experience of jatropha holds essential lessons for any promising up-and-coming biofuel.
At the beginning 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 promise as a sustainable source of biofuel that could be grown on broken down, 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 remaining big plantation focused on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares 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 advertise it, you require 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 learned from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play an essential function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transportation carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom might bring additional benefits, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some researchers are doubtful, keeping in mind 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 important to gain from previous errors. During the first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil runs.
Experts also suggest that jatropha's tale offers lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs exploring appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, significant bust
jatropha curcas's early 21st-century appeal originated from its pledge as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from yards, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple purported virtues was an ability to prosper on abject or "minimal" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Path To Redemption
Sylvester Palmore edited this page 6 months ago