Correction to: Arsenic concentration, speciation, and risk assessment in sediments of the Xijiang River basin, China.

In the original paper, there was an error in the communication unit 1. The communication unit was "Liaoning Engineering Research Center for Treatment and Recycling of Industrially Discharged Heavy Metals, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang 110142, People's Republic of China".

Arsenic concentration, speciation, and risk assessment in sediments of the Xijiang River basin, China.

In order to acquire the spatial distribution, speciation, and risk assessment of arsenic (As), 18 sediment samples were collected in the middle and upper reaches (Nanpan River, Beipan River, Hongshui River, Diaojiang River, and Duliu River) of the Xijiang River basin, China. The chemical fractions of As in the collected sediments were mainly dominated by the residual fraction and the Fe (Mn, Al) oxide/oxyhydroxides fractions. The correlation analysis results showed that the chemical fraction of As in sediments had close correlations with Mn, good correlations with Fe and organic matter (OM), while weak correlations with Al and carbonate. In addition, it also showed that Diaojiang River basin was found to have an extremely high As pollution status and suffered from high ecological risk. Duliu River and Nanpan River had moderately polluted levels of As and showed a low ecological risk. The other sample sites of Xijiang River basin were uncontaminated of As. The assessment results from this study indicated that the different types of species present based on the chemical fractionation of As from the Xijiang River basin showed different risks. Graphical abstract.

One-step synthesis of zerovalent-iron-biochar composites to activate persulfate for phenol degradation.

A novel zerovalen-iron-biochar composite (nZVI/SBC) was synthesized by using FeCl3-laden sorghum straw biomass as the raw material via a facile one-step pyrolysis method without additional chemical reactions (e.g., by NaBH4 reduction or thermochemical reduction). The nZVI/SBC was successfully employed as an activator in phenol degradation by activated persulfate. XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption and atomic absorption spectrophotometry analysis showed that the nanosized Fe0 was the main component of the 4ZVI/SBC activator, which was a mesopore material with an optimal FeCl3·6H2O/biomass impregnation mass ratio of 2.7 g/g. The 4ZVI/SBC activator showed an efficient degradation of phenol (95.65% for 30 min at 25 °C) with a large specific surface area of 78.669 m2·g-1. The recovery of 4ZVI/SBC activator after the degradation reaction of phenol can be realized with the small amount of dissolved iron in the water. The 4ZVI/SBC activator facilitated the activation of persulfate to degrade phenol into non-toxic CO2 and H2O. The trend of Cl-, SO4 2- and NO3 - affected the removal efficiency of phenol by using the 4ZVI/SBC activator in the following order: NO3 - > SO4 2- > Cl-. The one-step synthesis of the nanosized zerovalent-iron-biochar composite was feasible and may be applied as an effective strategy for controlling organic waste (e.g. phenol) by waste biomass.

Degradation of metabolites of benzo[a]pyrene by coupling Penicillium chrysogenum with KMnO4.

Several main metabolites of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) formed by Penicillium chrysogenum, Benzo[a]pyrene-1,6-quinone (BP 1,6-quinone), trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene (BP 7,8-diol), 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OHBP), were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The three metabolites were liable to be accumulated and were hardly further metabolized because of their toxicity to microorganisms. However, their further degradation was essential for the complete degradation of BaP. To enhance their degradation, two methods, degradation by coupling Penicillium chrysogenum with KMnO4 and degradation only by Penicillium chrysogenum, were compared; Meanwhile, the parameters of degradation in the superior method were optimized. The results showed that (1) the method of coupling Penicillium chrysogenum with KMnO4 was better and was the first method to be used in the degradation of BaP and its metabolites; (2) the metabolite, BP 1,6-quinone was the most liable to be accumulated in pure cultures; (3) the effect of degradation was the best when the concentration of KMnO4 in the cultures was 0.01% (w/v), concentration of the three compounds was 5 mg/L and pH was 6.2. Based on the experimental results, a novel concept with regard to the bioremediation of BaP-contaminated environment was discussed, considering the influence on environmental toxicity of the accumulated metabolites.

[Study on continued degradation of BaP and its metabolites].

Two metabolites, cis-BP4, 5-dihydrodiol and cis-BP7, 8-dihydrodiol, were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) during the degradation of BaP by Bacillus-07 (BA-07). The two metabolites were hardly further metabolized for their toxicity to microorganism. To promote degradation of BaP and decrease accumulation of cis-BP4, 5-dihydrodiol and cis-BP7, 8-dihydrodiol, two methods (degradation only by BA-07, degradation by coupling the BA-07 and KMnO4) were compared. In addition, parameters of continued degradation of BaP and the two metabolites were optimized under the experiment conditions. The results showed that (1)the method of coupling the chemical oxidation and biodegradation (BA-07 and KMnO4) was better than only biodegradation (BA-07); (2) residue rate of cis-BP4, 5-dihydrodiol was higher than that of cis-BP7, 8-dihydrodiol when the samples were determined in the same time; (3)the effect of continued degradation was the best when the initial concentration of BaP was 40 microg/mL, pH value of the culture was 7.0, co-metabolic substrates was sodium succinate. Meanwhile, it was put forward that the method of coupling the chemical oxidation and biodegradation was effective on continued degradation of persistent organic contaminants in the environment.