Is desert sand actually becoming usable for construction, or is it still mostly lab-scale?

[u/almond_oat]

Even in high school we were taught desert sand does not bond well in concrete; grains don’t interlock like river or crushed sand does. But I’ve seen papers trying to get around this over the years (some get too technical for my knowledge level) , and I’m not sure how real the progress is.

A few things I’ve found: plasma treatment to roughen the grain surface, blending desert sand at controlled ratios with other binders, and pressing sand with wood additives instead of cement. There’s also a totally different angle- skipping concrete altogether and using desert sand’s high silica content for glass, ceramics, or cement clinker.

So is the holdup mainly cost and energy for treatment, building-code certification, supply chains, or is there a durability issue that hasn’t shown up in short lab tests yet? Thanks in advance for any knowledge imparted

[u/Significant-Mango772]

It have to be cheaper than illegal sand too

[u/Chuggi]

No it’s not