Pure quartz is silicon dioxide, carbon dioxide's heavier twin. Carbon is right above silicon in the periodic table and has similar chemistry. Carbon is the atom of life, silicon the atom of artificial life. Burning hydrocarbons could be replaced by burning hydrosilicons instead, the output being beach: white sand and warm water, rather than plant food.
Some plants, such as rice, incorporate SO2 sand in their build out, in addition to using CO2. It is believed the sand is a rice survival mechanism, to grind out the teeth of animals that eat it.
Both CO2 and SO2 are star players in the cycle of life.