Biofilm formation reverses polymer-specific microplastic transport through saturated sediments : research data underlying the article

Klun, Barbara (author), Kalčíková, Gabriela (author)

Microplastic transport through sediments controls their long-term subsurface storage, remobilization potential, and transfer between aquatic and subsurface environments, yet the mechanisms governing their retention under environmentally relevant conditions remain unresolved. Here, we investigated the transport of polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) fragments, including pristine and biotically aged particles, through saturated sediments with different granulometries. Across all sediment types, mechanical straining imposed a size-selective barrier at the inlet, capturing ≥40% of particles within the first 7.5 cm and restricting downstream transport to fractions <150 µm. Beyond this interface, sediment grain size determines how particles travel: larger pores reduce physical straining, causing transport pathways to diverge based on polymer density. Biotic aging fundamentally altered these transport behaviours. Biofilm formation enhanced PE retention, reducing breakthrough by 65%, while promoted deeper transport of PLA suggesting that biofilm modify particle–sediment interactions based on polymer characteristics. Our findings highlight that predicting microplastic fate in sediment requires incorporating plastic types, sediment structures, particle size distributions, and biological transformations to better understand microplastic transport in aquatic systems.

• Language: English
• Keywords: biofilm, microplastics, sediment, transport
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Year: 2026
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-185053
• Data col. methods: Measurements and tests
• Publication date in RUL: 21.07.2026

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: biofilm, mikroplastika, sediment, transport