La incidència sobre el suro de defectes sensorials amb descriptors de florit-humitat és un dels principals problemes amb què s'enfronta la indústria surera. Els principals compostos relacionats amb aquest defecte son cloroanisoles, metoxipirazines, geosmina i metilisoborneol. Aquesta recerca s'ha fet amb l'objectiu principal d'aprofundir en els mètodes de determinació de compostos volàtils en suro. S'ha desenvolupat una metodologia basada en la microextracció en fase sòlida i la cromatografia de gasos per a l'anàlisi conjunta d'aquests compostos en macerats de suro. El fet que la majoria dels compostos d'interès tingui un origen microbià ha fet necessari completar les anàlisis químiques amb mètodes de detecció i aïllament dels microorganismes susceptibles de produir-los. S'ha utilitzat un mètode per a l'estudi de la diversitat de fongs i bacteris en mostres de suro basat en l'estudi de marcadors genètics mitjançant l'anàlisi en gradients electroforètics desnaturalitzants. Per últim s'ha avaluat la capacitat de producció de defectes sensorials per microorganismes aïllats de suro utilitzant tècniques olfactomètriques. / The incidence of musty-earthy sensory deviations on cork is one of the main problems that the cork industry faces. The main compounds related to this defect are chloroanisoles, methoxypyrazines, geosmin and methylisoborneol. The aim of this research work was to develop analytical methods to simultaneously determine a large set of volatile compounds in cork samples. A methodology based on solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography for the determination of TCA, 3-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine, geosmin and methylisoborneol in cork aqueous macerates has been developed and validated. Moreover, the microbial origin of most of these compounds makes necessary to complement the chemical analysis with the detection and isolation of microorganisms that may be involved in the production of off-odours. Regular fingerprinting techniques for the analysis of microbial diversity such as Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) have been applied to the study of microorganism potentially responsible for off-odour formation in cork, in order to complement the chemical characterization of the volatile fraction. Finally we have evaluated the off-odour production capacity of microorganisms isolated from cork using olfactometry techniques.

In February 2014, a coal ash spill on Duke Energy's Dan River Plant in Eden, NC released approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. It took approximately one week to stop the spill. Starting in February 2015, drinking water utilities using the Dan River experienced a series of taste and odor (TandO) events described as "earthy" or "musty". Similar TandO events were not documented before the coal ash spill. This research attempted to understand causes of the TandO events and if the coal ash spill was connected. A variety of water quality analyses were performed on twelve sites from August 2016 to September 2017 on the Dan and Smith Rivers. The Smith River served as the control. From concentrations of coal ash indicators (particularly Ba, Sr, As, V, and Br-), there was a signature of coal ash on the Dan River that was not present on the Smith River. The signature could not be attributed to the coal ash spill, as the signature was present upstream of the spill. Chronic ecosystem toxicity due to metals was low and not significantly different between the Dan and Smith Rivers. No substantial TandO events occurred during the period of this study. All monitored odorants were detected with varying frequencies in both the Dan and Smith Rivers. No significant change in odorant concentration was found above and below the location of the coal ash spill. / MS / In February 2014, a coal ash spill from Duke Energy’s Dan River Plant in Eden, NC released approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. Starting in February 2015, drinking water utilities using the Dan River experienced a series of taste and odor (T&O) events described as smelling “earthy” or “musty”. Similar T&O events were not documented before the coal ash spill. This research attempted to understand underlying causes of these T&O events and to determine if the coal ash spill was connected. Analyses, including concentrations of coal ash indicators and odorants, were performed from August 2016 to September 2017 on a monthly basis for both the Dan and Smith Rivers. The Smith River served as a control river as it was not impacted by coal burning power plants and or a coal ash spill. There was a signature of coal ash metal contamination in the Dan River but not in the Smith River. The coal ash signature could not be attributed to the 2014 Duke Energy coal ash spill in Eden, NC because it was also found upstream of the area sampled and the location of the coal ash spill. Chronic ecosystem toxicity due to metals was low on the both the Dan and Smith Rivers and was not different between the rivers. No substantial drinking water taste and odor events occurred during the study period. All monitored earth-musty odorants were detected with varying frequency at concentrations mostly below and sometimes above their individual odor threshold concentration.