MOX fuel recovers plutonium produced in all reactors and uses depleted uranium that is a subproduct of the uranium enrichment process.
A MOX element is nothing else than a fissile element that weights approximately 450 kg and is composed of a mixture of 415 kg of uranium oxide and 35 kg of plutonium oxide.
By replacing a standard fuel element composed of enriched uranium by a MOX element, 9 kg of plutonium is consumed in stead of 5 kg that is produced.
The recovering of plutonium in MOX elements reduces the quantity of plutonium produced in nuclear power plants and economizes uranium ore needs.
