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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 might grow on degraded lands across 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 resulted in plantation failures almost all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some scientists continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they state, is dependent on cracking the yield issue and addressing the hazardous land-use issues intertwined with its initial failure.
The sole remaining big jatropha plantation is 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 resurgence fails, 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 throughout 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 and development, the sole remaining big 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, embraced a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild varieties of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you require to domesticate it. This belongs of the process that was missed out on [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.
Having learned from the mistakes of jatropha's past failures, he says the oily plant could yet play a crucial role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, reducing transport carbon emissions at the worldwide level. A new boom could bring additional advantages, with jatropha likewise a potential source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.
But some scientists are doubtful, noting that jatropha has actually currently gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They caution that if the plant is to reach full capacity, then it is necessary to discover from past errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were obstructed not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, logging, and social issues in nations where it was planted, including Ghana, where jOil operates.
Experts likewise recommend that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and entrepreneurs checking out appealing new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.
Miracle shrub, major bust
Jatropha's early 21st-century appeal came from its promise as a "second-generation" biofuel, which are sourced from turfs, trees and other plants not stemmed from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its several purported virtues was a capability to thrive on abject or "minimal" lands
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Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Course To Redemption
vyaramon160478 edited this page 2025-01-11 21:39:35 -06:00