I think a more interesting application of this process is to attempt to find easier, safer, more reliable, or more efficient methods of producing or processing

I think a more interesting application of this process is to attempt to find easier, safer, more reliable, or more efficient methods of producing or processing existing materials. See: the more or less accidental rediscovery of room temperature polyester/PET recycling (including separation from blended fabrics without damaging the cotton) using CO2 as a catalyst. There exist quite a few cases of very simple solutions to very difficult problems where the start and end products are already known, but we just don't know how to effectively get from A to B without causing certain undesirable side-effects.