The value of impurity. The second life of WEEE-derived yttrium in the pharmaceutical industry

Among the strategic raw materials supporting today’s digital and energy transition, rare earth elements (REE) pose increasing geopolitical and industrial-economic challenges. Urban mining offers a promising alternative, although the high energy costs associated with recycling remain a significant obstacle. This paper investigates the technical feasibility and economic viability of processes for obtaining secondary materials of lower purity. As an illustrative case study, we analysed the recovery of triflate-yttrium from a mixture of e-waste containing yttrium oxide at varying concentrations; the resulting material can be used in pharmaceutical applications. The study evaluates the economic efficiency and recycling effectiveness, achieving medium-to-high purities under economically viable conditions. These results demonstrate that the tested method can support circular processes in the e-waste chain at lower costs than market prices for high-purity raw material oxides used in the pharmaceutical sector, making the production of secondary raw materials preferable to the production of virgin raw materials derived from extraction processes with high environmental and social impact on the territories.