Time is running out for sand
nature.com
Time is running out for sand
1–10 of 46 posts
Re: Time is running out for sand
#2people can start gathering sand from the deserts and plant trees on the new land
Re: Time is running out for sand
#3people can start gathering sand from the deserts and plant trees on the new land
Desert sand isn't useful as it's too smooth and has properties nearer dust or silt than sharp sand.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#4The problem seems to be that desert sand is too smooth to use in concrete. Perhaps a method is needed for fusing desert sand in such a way that it becomes rough. Perhaps large fresnel lenses that use sunlight to fuse the grains into small clumps?
Re: Time is running out for sand
#5If you want to read more on the topic, I enjoyed the book "The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization", by Vince Beiser (no affiliation)
Re: Time is running out for sand
#6It would seem to me that we simply need to make buildings (and other materials) out of other resources.
Whether they are expensive or only effective in certain situations is for the purchaser to decide.
One man's bamboo is another man's carbon fiber, I suoppose.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#7CTRL-F "price" 0 results
Re: Time is running out for sand
#8So, industry needs angular sand, and that’s mostly found on rivers. The difference matters for concrete and such, but I wonder whether rivers are so fussy about the type of sand in them.
What would happen if you took the desert sand and used it to replace the river sand? Because you’re now mining and transporting twice, you’ll definitely have higher costs.
Re: Time is running out for sand
#9Re: Time is running out for sand
#10It would seem to me that we simply need to make buildings (and other materials) out of other resources. Whether they are expensive or only effective in certain situations is for the purchaser to decide. One man's bamboo is another man's carbon fiber, I suoppose.
Wouldn't it be handy if you could make granules of "sand" out of carbon, perhaps captured from the air...