'Just' pressure is not the only metric; from your link: > However, the flexural and tensile strengths tended to decrease as the amount of desert sand increased

'Just' pressure is not the only metric; from your link: > However, the flexural and tensile strengths tended to decrease as the amount of desert sand increased, particularly beyond a 25% replacement level. So it is not a 1:1 replacement, and there are further considerations that need to be taken into account into how much (if any) desert sand can be put into a particular mix for a particular purpose. Another paper if you want to get into the weeds somewhat: > In this paper, the effect of DSRR, temperature and cooling regime on the mechanical performances of concrete produced with desert sand was analyzed. To study the influence of temperature on the microstructure of concrete produced with desert sand, the microscopic experiments (XRD, SEM) were employed. * https://ijcsm.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40069-020-00402-3 https://ijcsm.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40069-020-0... See also perhaps: * https://engineering.stackexchange.com/questions/18118/why-is-desert-sand-not-processed-to-make-it-suitable-for-concrete https://engineering.stackexchange.com/questions/18118/why-is... It is an area of active research, and perhaps a system will be developed to use it in a cost effective manner.