Abstract
Palm oil mill effluent (POME) represents a major environmental burden in the palm oil industry while offering opportunities for resource recovery. This study develops and applies a value-based assessment framework to examine how technological choice influences the integrated environmental-economic performance of POME valorization. Biomethane production and bio-hydrogen production are selected as representative mature and emerging technologies, respectively. Life-cycle environmental performance is quantified using greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions midpoint indicator and natural resources endpoint indicator, reflecting broader environmental damages. A techno-economic assessment is performed to show the economic performance. In addition to conventional return of investment (ROI), the benefits of mitigating environmental impacts are accounted using the return of value (ROV) methodology. The results indicate that the attractiveness of POME valorization pathways depends strongly on how environmental gains are represented. Midpoint-based valuation shows the climate mitigation potential of the biomethane and bio-hydrogen, whereas endpoint-based valuation reveals higher environmental impacts for the energy-intensive hydrogen route, favoring the mature biomethane option in terms of integrated sustainability performance. This contrast demonstrates that technological maturity is reflected not only in cost structure and process stability but also in the balance between avoided impacts and newly introduced environmental burdens. Overall, the proposed value-based assessment framework enables environmental impacts and economic performance to be evaluated on a common value scale, providing a consistent basis for sustainability-oriented decision-making in POME valorization and supporting strategic planning for wastewater management and bio-economy development in the palm oil sector.