GitLab

If you liked this story, share it with other individuals.

Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a "wonder" biofuel. A simple shrubby tree belonging to Central America, it was hugely promoted as a high-yielding, drought-tolerant biofuel feedstock that could 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 all over. The aftermath of the jatropha crash was polluted by allegations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon reduction claims.
Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive pledge of high-yielding jatropha. A return, they state, depends on splitting the yield problem and resolving the harmful land-use concerns linked with its original failure.
The sole staying big jatropha plantation remains in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated ranges have been accomplished 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 guarantee as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on degraded, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields failed.

Now, after years of research and advancement, the sole staying large plantation concentrated on growing jatropha is in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, claims the jatropha comeback is on.

"All those companies that failed, adopted a plug-and-play design of scouting for the wild ranges of jatropha. But to commercialize it, you need to domesticate it. This belongs of the process that was missed [during the boom]," jOil CEO Vasanth Subramanian told Mongabay in an interview.

Having gained from the mistakes of jatropha's previous failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key function as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A new boom could bring fringe benefits, with jatropha likewise a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some researchers are doubtful, noting that jatropha has actually already gone through one hype-and-fizzle cycle. They warn that if the plant is to reach complete potential, then it is necessary to gain from past mistakes. During the very first boom, jatropha curcas plantations were hampered not just by bad yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts likewise suggest that jatropha's tale provides lessons for scientists and business owners checking out promising brand-new sources for liquid biofuels - which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, major 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 several purported virtues was an ability to grow on degraded or "minimal" lands; hence, it was claimed it would never compete with food crops, so the theory went.

Back then, jatropha ticked all the boxes, says Alexandros Gasparatos, now at the University of Tokyo's Institute for Future Initiatives. "We had a crop that appeared incredible; that can grow without excessive fertilizer, too many pesticides, or too much need for water, that can be exported [as fuel] abroad, and does not take on food because it is toxic."

Governments, global companies, investors and companies bought into the buzz, releasing efforts to plant, or pledge to plant, millions of hectares of jatropha. By 2008, plantations covered some 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to a market study prepared for WWF.

It didn't take long for the mirage of the amazing biofuel tree to fade.

In 2009, a Buddies of the Earth report from Eswatini (still known at the time as Swaziland) cautioned that jatropha's high demands for land would undoubtedly bring it into direct dispute with food crops. By 2011, a global review noted that "growing exceeded both scientific understanding of the crop's capacity in addition to an understanding of how the crop suits existing rural economies and the degree to which it can flourish on minimal lands."

Projections approximated 4.7 million hectares (11.7 million acres) would be planted by 2010, and 12.8 million hectares (31.6 million acres) by 2015. However, just 1.19 million hectares (2.94 million acres) were growing by 2011. Projects and plantations began to fail as expected yields refused to emerge. Jatropha might grow on degraded lands and endure drought conditions, as claimed, however yields stayed bad.

"In my viewpoint, this combination of speculative investment, export-oriented capacity, and prospective to grow under fairly poorer conditions, developed a really big issue," resulting in "ignored yields that were going to be produced," Gasparatos states.

As jatropha plantations went from boom to bust, they were also plagued by environmental, social and financial troubles, state professionals. Accusations of land grabs, the conversion of food crop lands, and cleaning of natural areas were reported.

Studies discovered that land-use change for jatropha in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Tanzania led to a loss of biodiversity. A study from Mexico found the "carbon payback" of jatropha plantations due to involved forest loss ranged in between two and 14 years, and "in some circumstances, the carbon financial obligation may never ever be recovered." In India, production revealed carbon advantages, however making use of fertilizers resulted in boosts of soil and water "acidification, ecotoxicity, eutrophication."

"If you look at the majority of the plantations in Ghana, they declare that the jatropha produced was located on limited land, however the idea of marginal land is really elusive," explains Abubakari Ahmed, a speaker at the University for Development Studies, Ghana. He studied the ramifications of jatropha plantations in the country over a number of years, and discovered that a lax definition of "limited" indicated that presumptions that the land co-opted for jatropha plantations had been lying unblemished and unused was often illusory.

"Marginal to whom?" he asks. "The reality that ... currently no one is using [land] for farming does not imply that no one is utilizing it [for other functions] There are a lot of nature-based livelihoods on those landscapes that you may not always see from satellite imagery."

Learning from jatropha

There are essential lessons to be discovered from the experience with jatropha, state analysts, which should be hearkened when thinking about other advantageous second-generation biofuels.

"There was a boom [in financial investment], however regrettably not of research study, and action was taken based on supposed benefits of jatropha," says Bart Muys, a professor in the Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape at the University of Leuven, Belgium. In 2014, as the jatropha hype was unwinding, Muys and colleagues published a paper pointing out key lessons.

Fundamentally, he describes, there was an absence of knowledge about the plant itself and its requirements. This essential requirement for upfront research could be applied to other possible biofuel crops, he states. Last year, for instance, his group launched a paper evaluating the yields of pongamia (Millettia pinnata), a "fast-growing, leguminous and multipurpose tree types" with biofuel pledge.

Like jatropha, pongamia can be grown on degraded and limited land. But Muys's research revealed yields to be highly variable, contrary to other reports. The group concluded that "pongamia still can not be considered a significant and stable source of biofuel feedstock due to continuing knowledge spaces." Use of such cautionary information might avoid inefficient financial speculation and negligent land conversion for new biofuels.

"There are other very appealing trees or plants that could function as a fuel or a biomass producer," Muys states. "We wished to prevent [them going] in the exact same direction of premature buzz and stop working, like jatropha."

Gasparatos highlights important requirements that need to be met before moving ahead with new biofuel plantations: high yields must be unlocked, inputs to reach those yields understood, and a ready market should be available.

"Basically, the crop requires to be domesticated, or [clinical understanding] at a level that we understand how it is grown," Gasparatos states. Jatropha "was almost undomesticated when it was promoted, which was so strange."

How biofuel lands are obtained is also essential, says Ahmed. Based on experiences in Ghana where communally used lands were bought for production, authorities should make sure that "guidelines are put in place to examine how large-scale land acquisitions will be done and documented in order to minimize some of the problems we observed."

A jatropha return?

Despite all these difficulties, some scientists still believe that under the right conditions, jatropha might be a valuable biofuel solution - especially for the difficult-to-decarbonize transportation sector "responsible for approximately one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions."

"I think jatropha has some potential, however it requires to be the ideal material, grown in the right location, and so on," Muys said.

Mohammad Alherbawi, a postdoctoral research study fellow at Qatar's Hamad Bin Khalifa University, continues holding out hope for jatropha. He sees it as a manner in which Qatar might decrease airline company carbon emissions. According to his quotes, its use as a jet fuel might result in about a 40% decrease of "cradle to grave" emissions.

Alherbawi's team is carrying out continuous field studies to increase jatropha yields by fertilizing crops with sewage sludge. As an added advantage, he imagines a jatropha green belt spanning 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres) in Qatar. "The application of the green belt can actually enhance the soil and farming lands, and secure them versus any further degeneration brought on by dust storms," he states.

But the Qatar task's success still depends upon lots of factors, not least the ability to acquire quality yields from the tree. Another vital step, Alherbawi discusses, is scaling up production innovation that uses the entirety of the jatropha fruit to increase processing performance.

Back in Ghana, jOil is currently managing more than 1,300 hectares (1,830 acres) of jatropha curcas, and growing a pilot plot on 300 hectares (740 acres) dealing with more than 400 farmers. Subramanian discusses that years of research study and advancement have actually led to varieties of jatropha that can now achieve the high yields that were lacking more than a decade ago.

"We were able to speed up the yield cycle, enhance the yield variety and improve the fruit-bearing capacity of the tree," Subramanian says. In essence, he mentions, the tree is now domesticated. "Our very first task is to expand our jatropha plantation to 20,000 hectares."

Biofuels aren't the only application JOil is taking a look at. The fruit and its by-products could be a source of fertilizer, bio-candle wax, a charcoal replacement (important in Africa where much wood is still burned for cooking), and even bioplastics.

But it is the transportation sector that still beckons as the ideal biofuels application, according to Subramanian. "The biofuels story has once again resumed with the energy shift drive for oil companies and bio-refiners - [driven by] the look for alternative fuels that would be emission friendly."

A total jatropha life-cycle assessment has yet to be finished, but he thinks that cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions related to the oily plant will be "competitive ... These two elements - that it is technically appropriate, and the carbon sequestration - makes it a really strong prospect for adoption for ... sustainable aviation," he states. "Our company believe any such expansion will take place, [by clarifying] the definition of abject land, [enabling] no competition with food crops, nor in any method threatening food security of any country."

Where next for jatropha?

Whether jatropha can really be carbon neutral, environment-friendly and socially responsible depends on complicated elements, consisting of where and how it's grown - whether, for instance, its production design is based in smallholder farms versus industrial-scale plantations, state experts. Then there's the unpleasant issue of achieving high yields.

Earlier this year, the Bolivian federal government revealed its intention to pursue jatropha plantations in the Gran Chaco biome, part of a national biofuels push that has actually debate over prospective effects. The Gran Chaco's dry forest biome is already in deep problem, having been greatly deforested by aggressive agribusiness practices.

Many previous plantations in Ghana, warns Ahmed, transformed dry savanna woodland, which became troublesome for carbon accounting. "The net carbon was frequently unfavorable in most of the jatropha sites, because the carbon sequestration of jatropha can not be compared to that of a shea tree," he explains.

Other scientists chronicle the "capacity of Jatropha curcas as an environmentally benign biodiesel feedstock" in Malaysia, Indonesia and India. But still other researchers stay skeptical of the ecological practicality of second-generation biofuels. "If Mexico promotes biofuels, such as the exploitation of jatropha, the rebound is that it possibly becomes so effective, that we will have a lot of associated land-use modification," states Daniel Itzamna Avila-Ortega, co-founder of the Mexican Center of Industrial Ecology and a Ph.D. trainee with the Stockholm Resilience Centre; he has actually conducted research on the possibilities of jatropha adding to a circular economy in Mexico.

Avila-Ortega mentions past land-use issues connected with growth of numerous crops, consisting of oil palm, sugarcane and avocado: "Our police is so weak that it can not handle the private sector doing whatever they desire, in regards to producing ecological problems."

Researchers in Mexico are presently exploring jatropha-based animals feed as an affordable and sustainable replacement for grain. Such usages may be well suited to local contexts, Avila-Ortega agrees, though he stays worried about potential environmental costs.

He suggests restricting jatropha expansion in Mexico to make it a "crop that conquers land," growing it only in really poor soils in need of remediation. "Jatropha might be one of those plants that can grow in very sterilized wastelands," he discusses. "That's the only way I would ever promote it in Mexico - as part of a forest recovery method for wastelands. Otherwise, the associated problems are higher than the possible advantages."

Jatropha's international future remains uncertain. And its possible as a tool in the fight against climate change can just be unlocked, state lots of professionals, by preventing the litany of difficulties connected with its first boom.

Will jatropha tasks that sputtered to a stop in the early 2000s be fired back up again? Subramanian believes its function as a sustainable biofuel is "impending" which the comeback is on. "We have strong interest from the energy industry now," he states, "to collaborate with us to establish and broaden the supply chain of jatropha curcas."

Banner image: Jatropha curcas trees in Hawai'i. Image by Forest and Kim Starr via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

A liquid biofuels primer: Carbon-cutting hopes vs. real-world effects

Citations:

Wahl, N., Hildebrandt, T., Moser, C., Lüdeke-Freund, F., Averdunk, K., Bailis, R., ... Zelt, T. (2012 ). Insights into jatropha jobs around the world - Key facts & figures from a global study. Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM), Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. doi:10.2139/ ssrn.2254823

Romijn, H., Heijnen, S., Colthoff, J. R., De Jong, B., & Van Eijck, J. (2014 ). Economic and social sustainability performance of jatropha tasks: Results from field studies in Mozambique, Tanzania and Mali. Sustainability, 6( 9 ), 6203-6235. doi:10.3390/ su6096203

Trebbin, A. (2021 ). Land grabbing and jatropha in India: An analysis of 'hyped' discourse on the topic. Land, 10( 10 ), 1063. doi:10.3390/ land10101063

Van Eijck, J., Romijn, H., Balkema, A., & Faaij, A. (2014 ). Global experience with jatropha curcas cultivation for bioenergy: An assessment of socio-economic and ecological aspects. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 32, 869-889. doi:10.1016/ j.rser.2014.01.028

Skutsch, M., De los Rios, E., Solis, S., Riegelhaupt, E., Hinojosa, D., Gerfert, S., ... Masera, O. (2011 ). jatropha curcas in Mexico: environmental and social impacts of an incipient biofuel program. Ecology and Society, 16( 4 ). doi:10.5751/ ES-04448-160411

Gmünder, S., Singh, R., Pfister, S., Adheloya, A., & Zah, R. (2012 ). Environmental effects of Jatropha curcas biodiesel in India. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2012. doi:10.1155/ 2012/623070

Ahmed, A., Jarzebski, M. P., & Gasparatos, A. (2018 ). Using the environment service approach to figure out whether jatropha jobs were found in minimal lands in Ghana: Implications for website selection. Biomass and Bioenergy, 114, 112-124. doi:10.1016/ j.biombioe.2017.07.020

Achten, W. M., Sharma, N., Muys, B., Mathijs, E., & Vantomme, P. (2014 ). Opportunities and constraints of promoting new tree crops - Lessons gained from jatropha. Sustainability, 6( 6 ), 3213-3231. doi:10.3390/ su6063213

Alherbawi, M., McKay, G., Govindan, R., Haji, M., & Al-Ansari, T. (2022 ). A novel approach on the delineation of a multipurpose energy-greenbelt to produce biofuel and combat desertification in deserts. Journal of Environmental Management, 323, 116223. doi:10.1016/ j.jenvman.2022.116223

Riayatsyah, T. M. I., Sebayang, A. H., Silitonga, A. S., Padli, Y., Fattah, I. M. R., Kusumo, F., ... Mahlia, T. M. I. (2022 ). Current development of Jatropha curcas commoditisation as biodiesel feedstock: An extensive review. Frontiers in Energy Research, 9, 1019. doi:10.3389/ fenrg.2021.815416

Mokhtar, E. S., Akhir, N. M., Zaki, N. A. M., Muharam, F. M., Pradhan, B., & Lay, U. S. (2021 ). Land suitability for possible jatropha plantation in Malaysia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 620( 1 ), 012002. doi:10.1088/ 1755-1315/620/ 1/012002

Chamola, R., Kumar, N., & Jain, S. (2022 ). Jatropha: A sustainable source of transportation fuel in India. In Advancement in Materials, Manufacturing and Energy Engineering, Vol. II: Select Proceedings of ICAMME 2021 (pp. 395-408). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. doi:10.1007/ 978-981-16-8341-1_32

Peralta, H., Avila-Ortega, D. I., & García-Flores, J. C. (2022 ). Jatropha farm: A circular economy proposition for the non-toxic physic nut crop in Mexico. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 15( 1 ), 10. doi:10.3390/ environsciproc2022015010

Hao, M., Qian, Y., Xie, X., Chen, S., Ding, F., & Ma, T. (2022 ). Global minimal land availability of Jatropha curcas L.-based biodiesel advancement. Journal of Cleaner Production, 364, 132655. doi:10.1016/ j.jclepro.2022.132655

FEEDBACK: Use this type to send out a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public remark, you can do that at the bottom of the page.