Future-proofing CO2 mitigation towards a circular economy: A systematic review on process integration and advanced tools.

Mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are a principal contributor to global warming, necessitates prompt and proactive measures. This systematic review evaluates advanced process integration and optimization tools, highlighting the need for a circular economy paired with efficient waste management to achieve effective CO2 reduction. We systematically examine, for the first time, the applications and limitations of pinch analysis, Process-graph (P-graph), artificial intelligence (AI), computer-aided sustainable design (CASD), Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensor networks, and hierarchical blockchain frameworks. AI alone could save 2.6-5.3 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2030, and its integration with CASD and IoT enables more sophisticated mitigation strategies. We recommend comprehensive carbon-offset frameworks and green-finance mechanisms to strengthen carbon-trading systems. Circular-economy measures for waste-driven CO2 reduction remain under-represented in national climate policies owing to cross-sectoral complexity. Future work should advance interdisciplinary tools data science, system modeling, and decision-support frameworks and expand economic-feasibility studies of optimization strategies. Ensuring rigorous data quality, variability accounting, integration, transparency, and replicability is essential. Lastly, sustained collaboration among engineers, scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders is critical for developing scalable, sustainable solutions to climate change.