Jatropha: the Biofuel that Bombed Seeks a Path To Redemption

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Earlier this century, jatropha was hailed as a « wonder » biofuel. A simple 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 ensued, with more than 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) planted by 2008. But the bubble burst. Low yields resulted in plantation failures nearly everywhere. The consequences of the jatropha crash was tainted by accusations of land grabbing, mismanagement, and overblown carbon decrease claims.

Today, some researchers continue pursuing the evasive guarantee of high-yielding jatropha. A resurgence, they say, is reliant on breaking the yield issue and dealing with the hazardous land-use problems linked with its initial failure.

The sole remaining big jatropha plantation is in Ghana. The plantation owner declares high-yield domesticated varieties have been attained and a new boom is at hand. But even if this resurgence fails, 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, an unassuming shrub-like tree belonging to Central America, was planted throughout the world. The rush to jatropha was driven by its pledge as a sustainable source of biofuel that might be grown on broken down, unfertile lands so as not to displace food crops. But inflated claims of high yields failed.

Now, after years of research and development, the sole staying big plantation focused on growing jatropha remains in Ghana. And Singapore-based jOil, which owns that plantation, declares the jatropha return is on.

« All those companies that stopped working, adopted a plug-and-play design of hunting 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 mistakes of jatropha’s past failures, he says the oily plant might yet play a key role as a liquid biofuel feedstock, decreasing transport carbon emissions at the global level. A brand-new boom could bring extra benefits, with jatropha also a possible source of fertilizers and even bioplastics.

But some scientists are doubtful, noting 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 necessary to find out from previous errors. During the very first boom, jatropha plantations were hindered not only by poor yields, however by land grabbing, deforestation, and social problems in nations where it was planted, consisting of Ghana, where jOil operates.

Experts also suggest that jatropha’s tale provides lessons for researchers and entrepreneurs checking out appealing brand-new sources for liquid biofuels – which exist aplenty.

Miracle shrub, significant bust

Jatropha’s early 21st-century appeal originated from its guarantee as a « second-generation » biofuel, which are sourced from turfs, trees and other plants not originated from edible crops such as maize, soy or oil palm. Among its multiple supposed virtues was a capability to flourish on degraded or « minimal » lands; hence, it was claimed it would never ever take on food crops, so the theory went.

At that time, jatropha ticked all packages, states Alexandros Gasparatos, now at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Future Initiatives. « We had a crop that seemed amazing; that can grow without too much fertilizer, too lots of pesticides, or excessive demand for water, that can be exported [as fuel] abroad, and does not take on food since it is toxic. »

Governments, international companies, investors and business purchased into the buzz, launching initiatives to plant, or pledge to plant, countless 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 research study got ready for WWF.

It didn’t take long for the mirage of the miraculous biofuel tree to fade.

In 2009, a Buddies of the Earth report from Eswatini (still understood at the time as Swaziland) alerted that jatropha’s high needs for land would indeed bring it into direct dispute with food crops. By 2011, a worldwide review kept in mind that « cultivation outmatched both scientific understanding of the crop’s capacity as well as an understanding of how the crop fits into existing rural economies and the degree to which it can prosper on limited lands. »

Projections estimated 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 anticipated yields declined to emerge. Jatropha could grow on abject lands and endure drought conditions, as declared, but yields stayed bad.

« In my opinion, this mix of speculative investment, export-oriented capacity, and potential to grow under reasonably poorer conditions, developed an extremely big problem, » resulting in « underestimated yields that were going to be produced, » Gasparatos says.

As jatropha plantations went from boom to bust, they were likewise pestered by environmental, social and economic troubles, state professionals. Accusations of land grabs, the conversion of food crop lands, and clearing of natural locations were reported.

Studies discovered that land-use modification for jatropha in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Tanzania caused a loss of biodiversity. A study from Mexico discovered the « carbon payback » of jatropha plantations due to associated forest loss varied between two and 14 years, and « in some circumstances, the carbon debt may never ever be recovered. » In India, production revealed carbon benefits, but the use of fertilizers resulted in boosts of soil and water « acidification, ecotoxicity, eutrophication. »

« If you take a look at most of the plantations in Ghana, they declare that the jatropha produced was located on limited land, however the idea of minimal land is really elusive, » discusses Abubakari Ahmed, a lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Ghana. He studied the implications of jatropha plantations in the country over several years, and found that a lax meaning of « marginal » meant that assumptions that the land co-opted for jatropha plantations had been lying unblemished and unused was frequently illusory.

« Marginal to whom? » he asks. « The fact that … presently nobody is utilizing [land] for farming doesn’t mean that nobody is using it [for other purposes] There are a lot of nature-based incomes on those landscapes that you might not necessarily see from satellite imagery. »

Learning from jatropha

There are key lessons to be gained from the experience with jatropha, state analysts, which ought to be hearkened when considering other auspicious second-generation biofuels.

« There was a boom [in financial investment], however unfortunately not of research, and action was taken based on supposed advantages 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 winding down, Muys and associates released a paper mentioning essential lessons.

Fundamentally, he discusses, there was a lack of knowledge about the plant itself and its needs. This important requirement for in advance research study could be used to other potential biofuel crops, he says. Last year, for instance, his group released a paper evaluating the yields of pongamia (Millettia pinnata), a « fast-growing, leguminous and multipurpose tree species » with biofuel guarantee.

Like jatropha, pongamia can be grown on degraded and limited land. But Muys’s research study revealed yields to be extremely variable, contrary to other reports. The group concluded that « pongamia still can not be thought about a significant and stable source of biofuel feedstock due to persisting knowledge spaces. » Use of such cautionary data could prevent inefficient financial speculation and negligent land conversion for brand-new biofuels.

« There are other really promising trees or plants that could serve as a fuel or a biomass producer, » Muys says. « We desired to avoid [them going] in the very same instructions of early hype and stop working, like jatropha. »

Gasparatos highlights essential requirements that should be fulfilled before moving ahead with new biofuel plantations: high yields must be opened, inputs to reach those yields comprehended, and a prepared market should be offered.

« Basically, the crop needs to be domesticated, or [scientific understanding] at a level that we understand how it is grown, » Gasparatos states. Jatropha « was virtually undomesticated when it was promoted, which was so odd. »

How biofuel lands are obtained is also essential, states Ahmed. Based upon experiences in Ghana where communally utilized lands were bought for production, authorities should ensure that « standards are put in place to inspect how large-scale land acquisitions will be done and documented in order to minimize some of the issues we observed. »

A jatropha resurgence?

Despite all these challenges, some researchers still believe that under the best conditions, jatropha could be a valuable biofuel option – especially for the difficult-to-decarbonize transport sector « responsible for around one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. »

« I think jatropha has some potential, but it needs to be the right product, grown in the right place, and so on, » Muys said.

Mohammad Alherbawi, a postdoctoral research fellow at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, continues holding out hope for jatropha. He sees it as a manner in which Qatar may minimize airline carbon emissions. According to his price quotes, its use as a jet fuel might result in about a 40% reduction of « cradle to tomb » emissions.

Alherbawi’s group is carrying out continuous field research studies to improve jatropha yields by fertilizing crops with sewage sludge. As an included benefit, he envisages a jatropha green belt spanning 20,000 hectares (almost 50,000 acres) in Qatar. « The implementation of the green belt can really improve the soil and farming lands, and safeguard them against any more deterioration caused by dust storms, » he says.

But the Qatar task’s success still depends upon many elements, not least the ability to get quality yields from the tree. Another important step, Alherbawi explains, is scaling up production innovation that uses the entirety of the jatropha fruit to increase processing effectiveness.

Back in Ghana, jOil is presently handling more than 1,300 hectares (1,830 acres) of jatropha, and growing a pilot plot on 300 hectares (740 acres) working with more than 400 farmers. Subramanian describes that years of research and development have led to varieties of jatropha that can now attain the high yields that were lacking more than a decade earlier.

« We were able to accelerate the yield cycle, enhance the yield variety and improve the fruit-bearing capacity of the tree, » Subramanian states. In essence, he states, 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 looking at. The fruit and its by-products could be a source of fertilizer, bio-candle wax, a charcoal replacement (essential in Africa where much wood is still burned for cooking), and even bioplastics.

But it is the transport sector that still beckons as the ideal biofuels application, according to Subramanian. « The biofuels story has actually when again resumed with the energy shift drive for oil companies and bio-refiners – [driven by] the search for alternative fuels that would be emission friendly. »

A complete jatropha life-cycle evaluation has yet to be finished, but he thinks that cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions related to the oily plant will be « competitive … These 2 elements – that it is technically ideal, and the carbon sequestration – makes it an extremely strong prospect for adoption for … sustainable aviation, » he states. « Our company believe any such growth will happen, [by clarifying] the meaning of abject land, [allowing] no competitors with food crops, nor in any way endangering food security of any country. »

Where next for jatropha?

Whether jatropha can really be carbon neutral, environment-friendly and socially responsible depends upon intricate aspects, consisting of where and how it’s grown – whether, for instance, its production model is based in smallholder farms versus industrial-scale plantations, state . Then there’s the irritating issue of achieving high yields.

Earlier this year, the Bolivian government revealed its intent to pursue jatropha plantations in the Gran Chaco biome, part of a nationwide biofuels push that has stirred dispute over prospective repercussions. The Gran Chaco’s dry forest biome is already in deep trouble, having actually been greatly deforested by aggressive agribusiness practices.

Many previous plantations in Ghana, alerts Ahmed, converted dry savanna woodland, which ended up being problematic for carbon accounting. « The net carbon was typically negative in the majority of the jatropha websites, because the carbon sequestration of jatropha can not be compared to that of a shea tree, » he discusses.

Other researchers chronicle the « potential of Jatropha curcas as an ecologically benign biodiesel feedstock » in Malaysia, Indonesia and India. But still other scientists stay doubtful of the eco-friendly practicality of second-generation biofuels. « If Mexico promotes biofuels, such as the exploitation of jatropha, the rebound is that it perhaps becomes so successful, that we will have a lot of associated land-use change, » 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 performed research study on the possibilities of jatropha contributing to a circular economy in Mexico.

Avila-Ortega mentions previous land-use problems related to expansion of numerous crops, including oil palm, sugarcane and avocado: « Our police is so weak that it can not deal with the private sector doing whatever they desire, in regards to developing ecological problems. »

Researchers in Mexico are currently checking out jatropha-based livestock feed as a low-cost and sustainable replacement for grain. Such uses might be well matched to regional contexts, Avila-Ortega concurs, though he remains concerned about possible ecological costs.

He recommends limiting jatropha growth in Mexico to make it a « crop that conquers land, » growing it only in truly poor soils in requirement of repair. « Jatropha might be among those plants that can grow in really sterile wastelands, » he explains. « That’s the only way I would ever promote it in Mexico – as part of a forest healing strategy for wastelands. Otherwise, the involved problems are greater than the possible benefits. »

Jatropha’s international future stays unsure. And its possible as a tool in the battle versus environment change can only be opened, state numerous specialists, by preventing the litany of difficulties connected with its first boom.

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

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 impacts

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