fazalmajid t1_ixaondf wrote
In India, illegal sand mining is a big mafia business. Apparently only some specific kinds of sand are usable for concrete, and the world is running out.
Sorcerous_Tiefling t1_ixb6ll6 wrote
This is correct. Sand that you would find in deserts has been blowing around for so long that it is extremely fine and uniform which actually makes it very bad for construction purposes.
dumbleydore94 t1_ixcwzsv wrote
Ok, there's probably a very good reason I'm just to uneducated to realize, but why don't we take some of that desert sand and replace island sand with it?
sofa_king_we_todded t1_ixcy8pc wrote
Making a guess but might be two reasons at least: one, it’ll be extremely expensive for little benefit. Second, for the same reason why it’s bad in concrete, the grains of sand are so small and smooth that it probably won’t keep its shape and disperse too easily in the water
fazalmajid t1_ixd1kew wrote
I believe it is too smooth and it doesn't stick to the cement in concrete well enough.
tequila_slurry t1_ixf8pi8 wrote
Ocean sand naturally has microscopic small particles of shells/coral etc. which actually make up a great deal of it. These are an absolutely necessary component of concrete. That's why glass bottles ground into sand, granite sand, and desert sand are completely unsuitable in making concrete. I believe it's more about chemical makeup than grit size (which would be completely controllable when grinding glass and stone into sand).
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