Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
194,226 studies31 sourcesUpdated 36 min ago
PreprintCC BY-NC-ND 4.0EarthArXiv

Evolving Biofilm Morphology Controls Microplastic Transport in Porous Media

  • Zhongyu Shi
  • Yinuo Noah Yao
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) entering soils and subsurface environments interact with biofilms that continually reshape pore geometry and local flow pathways, yet biofilm effects on MP transport are only studied under fixed conditions. Here, we used a saturated microfluidic porous medium to directly image biofilm development and track fluorescent polyethylene MPs at different stages of biofilm growth. Changes in biofilm morphology were quantified from transmitted-light intensity distributions, while particle trajectories were used to determine microplastic retention times and trapped fractions. Streamer-rich biofilms resulted in spatially distributed MP pathways, broader retention-time distributions, and greater particle trapping. In contrast, the bioclogged porous medium resulted in connected preferential flow paths (PFPs) that enabled rapid MP transport and reduced particle-biofilm interactions. Across all conditions, the streamer-associated component weight was positively correlated with both the mean normalized retention time (Spearman rs=0.92, p=0.0002) and trapped fraction (Spearman rs=0.87, p=0.0012). In contrast, neither the mean normalized retention time nor the trapped fraction showed a significant relationship with the total biofilm-associated optical fraction. These results show that MP transport depends strongly on biofilm morphology rather than biofilm accumulation alone. Biofilm development can therefore shift MP transport from spatially distributed and delayed transport under streamer-rich conditions to rapid transport through a focused PFP. This morphology-dependent behavior, therefore, imposes significant challenges in predicting MP retention and downstream migration in biologically active porous media.

Related

  1. Simulating microplastic distribution in oceans: the impact of morphology and sources
    Anne Gaymard, Camille Richon, Matthias Egger +2
    Environmental Research LettersPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEnvironmental science & pollutionHAL
  2. Coupled watershed and estuary modeling of microplastic transport and retention in the Delaware river basin
    Z. Duan, Y. Huang, M. Wigmosta +5
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full text1 citedEnvironmental science & pollutionCrossref
  3. Beyond advection: A Lagrangian framework for microplastic transport in depth-averaged shallow water flows
    P Vallés, M Morales-Hernández, Volker Roeber +2
    Journal of Contaminant HydrologyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEnvironmental science & pollutionGeneral mathematicsHAL
  4. Thermal and Hydrological Controls on Soil Respiration and Subsurface Gas Transport in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems.
    Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen, Navid Ahmadi, Guy Schurgers +4
    Environmental science & technologyPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDFull textClimate scienceEurope PMC
  5. Experimental mineralogical replacement to investigate the role of texture on interface morphology, reaction kinetics and pore-scale transport during metasomatism
    Nicolas E Beaudoin, Kanchana Kularatne, Stephen Centrella +5
    Earth and Planetary Science LettersPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEnvironmental science & pollutionHAL

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{shi2026evolving,
  title = {{Evolving Biofilm Morphology Controls Microplastic Transport in Porous Media}},
  author = {Zhongyu Shi and Yinuo Noah Yao},
  howpublished = {EarthArXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.31223/x5jv4h},
  url = {https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/15030/},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Evolving Biofilm Morphology Controls Microplastic Transport in Porous Media
AU  - Zhongyu Shi
AU  - Yinuo Noah Yao
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - EarthArXiv
DO  - 10.31223/x5jv4h
UR  - https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/15030/
AB  - Microplastics (MPs) entering soils and subsurface environments interact with biofilms that continually reshape pore geometry and local flow pathways, yet biofilm effects on MP transport are only studied under fixed conditions. Here, we used a saturated microfluidic porous medium to directly image biofilm development and track fluorescent polyethylene MPs at different stages of biofilm growth. Changes in biofilm morphology were quantified from transmitted-light intensity distributions, while particle trajectories were used to determine microplastic retention times and trapped fractions. Streamer-rich biofilms resulted in spatially distributed MP pathways, broader retention-time distributions, and greater particle trapping. In contrast, the bioclogged porous medium resulted in connected preferential flow paths (PFPs) that enabled rapid MP transport and reduced particle-biofilm interactions. Across all conditions, the streamer-associated component weight was positively correlated with both the mean normalized retention time (Spearman r_s=0.92, p=0.0002) and trapped fraction (Spearman r_s=0.87, p=0.0012). In contrast, neither the mean normalized retention time nor the trapped fraction showed a significant relationship with the total biofilm-associated optical fraction. These results show that MP transport depends strongly on biofilm morphology rather than biofilm accumulation alone. Biofilm development can therefore shift MP transport from spatially distributed and delayed transport under streamer-rich conditions to rapid transport through a focused PFP. This morphology-dependent behavior, therefore, imposes significant challenges in predicting MP retention and downstream migration in biologically active porous media.
ER  -