Biochars prepared from biogas residue using different chemical activators were investigated for their As(III) adsorption properties. The results indicated that the original biochars did not exhibit significant As(III) adsorption. However, ZnCl2-activated biochar, which possessed the largest specific surface area, 516.67 cm(2)/g, and exhibited a perfectly porous texture, showed excellent performance in a 500 mu gL(-1) solution of As(III). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were utilized to identify the mechanism of As(III) adsorption by ZnCl2-activated biochar. Adsorption was found to occur mainly through ligand exchange of the hydroxyl in Zn-OH to form Zn-O-As(III), as well as through porous adsorption. As a low-cost adsorbent, the adsorption process was well fitted using a pseudo-second-order model, with an R-2 > 0.993. The adsorption process was fast, requiring nearly 90 min to reach adsorption equilibrium. Batch adsorption experimental results indicated that ZnCl2-activated biochar has a maximum adsorption capacity of 27.67 mg/g at pH 7.0, and the adsorption process followed the Freundlich isotherm model well, with an R-2 > 0.994. In addition, the current work demonstrated the efficiency of using ZnCl2-activated biochar adsorbent to treat As(III)-contaminated water. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.