A Zr-β-FeOOH adsorbent for both As（Ⅴ） and As（Ⅲ） removal was prepared by a chemical co-precipitation method. Compared with β-FeOOH, the addition of Zr enhanced the adsorption capacities for As（Ⅴ） and As（Ⅲ）, especially As（Ⅲ）. The maximum adsorption capacities for As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） were 120 and 60 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0, much higher than for many reported adsorbents. The adsorption data accorded with Freundlich isotherms. At neutral pH, for As（Ⅴ）, adsorption equilibrium was approached after 3 hr, while for As（Ⅲ）, adsorption equilibrium was approached after 5 hr. Kinetic data fitted well to the pseudo second-order reaction model. As（Ⅴ） elimination was favored at acidic pH, whereas the adsorption of As（Ⅲ） by Zr-β-FeOOH was found to be effective over a wide pH range of 4-10. Competitive anions hindered the adsorption according to the sequence： phosphate 〉 silicate 〉 bicarbonate 〉 sulfate 〉 nitrate, while Ca2＋ and Mg2＋ increased the removal of As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） slightly. The high adsorption capability and good performance in other aspects make Zr-β-FeOOH a potentially attractive adsorbent for the removal of both As（Ⅲ） and As（Ⅴ） from water.
Biogenic manganese oxides （BioMnOx） were synthesized by the oxidation of Mn（II） with Mn- oxidizing bacteria Pseudomonas sp. G7 under different initial pH values and Mn（II） dosages, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The crystal structure and Mn oxidation states of BioMnOx depended on the initial pH and Mn（lI） dosages of the medium. The superoxide radical （O2） was observed in Mn-containing （III/IV） BioMnOx suspensions by electron spin resonance measurements. BioMnOx（0.4）-7, with mixed valence of Mn（II/III/IV） and the strongest O^- signals, was prepared in the initial pH 7 and Mn（II） dosage of 0.4 mmol/L condition, and exhibited the highest activity for ciproftoxacin degradation and no Mn（II） release. During the degradation of ciprofloxacin, the oxidation of the Mn（II） formed came from biotic and abiotic reactions in BioMnOx suspensions on the basis of the Mn（II） release and O2- formation from different BioMnOx. The degradation process of ciprofloxacin was shown to involve the cleavage of the hexatomic ring having a secondary amine and carbon-carbon double bond connected to a carboxyl group, producing several compounds containing amine groups as well as small organic acids.
