Unlocking Indonesia's Biofuel Leadership: POME-based SAF Development Pathways, Barriers, and Strategic Imperatives for Global Aviation Decarbonization

This journal examines the potential of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) as a feedstock for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in supporting the decarbonization of global aviation. Through a PRISMA-based Systematic Literature Review of 25 articles (2019–2025), this study evaluates technological pathways, environmental performance, as well as economic and policy barriers. The results indicate that conversion based on anaerobic digestion combined with Fischer–Tropsch or Alcohol-to-Jet can reduce emissions by 60–85%. Although the supply of POME is abundant, its development is hindered by high costs, limited infrastructure, and suboptimal regulatory support for SAF in Indonesia.