Towards Industry 5.0 Circular Manufacturing: AI-Based Frameworks for Zero-Waste, Net-Zero, and Resource-Optimized Production

Ezekiel Oluwadamilare Akintona¹, Charles Chikwendu Okpala², Oladapo Babafemi Fakiyesi³

^1,3 Lecturer, Industrial/Production Engineering Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

² Professor, Industrial/Production Engineering Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. 

Abstract

Manufacturing industries are increasingly challenged to achieve sustainability targets amid rising resource scarcity, waste accumulation, and global net-zero commitments. The transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 introduces a paradigm shift in which manufacturing systems must become not only intelligent and connected, but also human-centric, resilient, and environmentally regenerative. In this study, an AI-based circular manufacturing framework is proposed to operationalize Industry 5.0 principles through the integration of real-time industrial sensing, digital twin simulation, machine learning prediction, reinforcement learning optimization, and lifecycle sustainability analytics. The framework is designed to enable measurable progress towards zero-waste production, net-zero carbon pathways, and resource-optimized industrial ecosystems. A simulation-based case study of a mid-scale discrete manufacturing facility demonstrates that the proposed Industry 5.0 circular AI model can reduce total waste generation by up to 38%, lower energy consumption by 27%, and decrease lifecycle-equivalent CO₂ emissions by 31% when compared to conventional linear production systems. Additionally, resource circularity performance improved from 0.22 in baseline operations to 0.68 under AI-enabled closed-loop optimization. These findings highlight the transformative role of AI-driven circular intelligence in supporting sustainable manufacturing transitions beyond traditional Industry 4.0 approaches. The study contributes a scalable methodological foundation for future industrial deployment, sustainability policy alignment, and interdisciplinary research advancement towards regenerative and climate-neutral manufacturing systems.    

Keywords: Industry 5.0, Circular manufacturing, Artificial intelligence, Net-zero production, Zero-waste systems, Digital twins, Sustainability

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