Biopolymers Derived from Agricultural Waste and the Axiological Reconfiguration of Technological Efficiency: A Hermeneutic Analysis in Contrast to Synthetic Polymers

Abstract

Biopolymers derived from agricultural waste occupy a growing place in scholarly discussions on sustainability and technological development. Beyond their instrumental performance, these materials enable a critical examination of the values that orient agricultural production and shape the relationships between technology, nature, and culture. From this perspective, sustainability is understood as a guiding horizon that structures technological decisions and configures situated ways of inhabiting productive systems. This study advances an axiological analysis of porous biopolymers obtained from agricultural waste and applied in agricultural contexts under water stress conditions, interpreting them as mediators of a technological rationality oriented toward resource care, material circularity, and environmental responsibility. The adopted approach integrates the analysis of material configurations with a critical interpretation of the cultural and normative assumptions underpinning their development and use, articulating technical evidence with philosophical reflection on technological meaning. The results indicate that the structural and functional organization of biopolymers aligns with values associated with waste valorization, ecological coherence, and integration with soil cycles. Within this framework, material innovation acquires relevance insofar as it expresses a transformation in productive narratives, in which technology is oriented by care and intergenerational responsibility. Overall, the study contributes to understanding biopolymers as culturally situated mediators in the axiological reconfiguration of contemporary agricultural technology.