Advances in the control of wine spoilage by Zygosaccharomyces and Dekkera/Brettanomyces.

Understanding the characteristics of yeast spoilage, as well as the available control technologies, is vital to producing consistent, high-quality wine. Zygosaccharomyces bailii contamination may result in refermentation and CO2 production in sweet wines or grape juice concentrate, whereas Brettanomyces bruxellensis spoilage often contributes off-odors and flavors to red wines. Early detection of these yeasts by selective/differential media or genetic methods is important to minimize potential spoilage. More established methods of microbial control include sulfur dioxide, dimethyl dicarbonate, and filtration. Current research is focused on the use of chitosan, pulsed electric fields, low electric current, and ultrasonics as means to protect wine quality.

Carbon foams as catalyst supports for phenol photodegradation.

A carbon foam using coal tar pitch as precursor was prepared and investigated as support for titanium oxide for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol. The performance of the carbon foam/titania composite was compared to those of unsupported titania and other activated carbon composites from the literature. The photodegradation rate of phenol over the catalysts under UV illumination was fitted to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model; data showed that the apparent rate constant of the carbon foam supported titania was almost three times larger than that of bare titania, and comparable to that of other carbon supported composites. Considering the low porous features of the carbon foam, this suggests that large surface area supports are not essential to achieve high degradation rates and efficiencies. Moreover, when titania is supported on the carbon foam large amounts of catechol are detected in solution after UV irradiation, indicating a better degradation efficiency.