Hydromethanolic extracts of brown, red, and white sorghum whole grains were analysed by LC-MS(n) in negative ESI mode within the range m/z 150-550amu. Besides the flavonoids already reported in sorghum, a number of flavonoids were also identified in the sorghum grain for the first time, including flavanones, flavonols and flavanonols, and flavan-3-ol derivatives. Various phenylpropane glycerides were also found in the sorghum grain, the majority of them are reported here for the first time, and a few of them were detected with abundant peaks in the extracts, indicating they are another important class of phenolic compounds in sorghum. In addition, phenolamides were also found in sorghum grain, which have not been reported before, and dicaffeoyl spermidine was detected in high abundance in the extracts of all three type sorghum grains. These results confirmed that sorghum is a rich source of various phenolic compounds.

This study has elucidated the fragmentation pathway for deprotonated isoflavones in electrospray ionization using MS(n) ion trap mass spectrometry and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Genistein-d(4) and daidzein-d(3) were used as references for the clarification of fragment structures. To confirm the relationship between precursor and product ions, some fragments were traced from MS(2) to MS(5). The previous literature for the structurally related flavones and flavanones located the loss of ketene (C(2)H(2)O) to ring C, whereas the present fragmentation study for isoflavones has shown that the loss of ketene occurs at ring A. In the further fragmentation of the [M-H-CH(3)](-*) radical anion of methoxylated isoflavones, loss of a hydrogen atom was commonly found. [M-H-CH(3)-CO-B-ring](-) is a characteristic fragment ion of glycitein and can be used to differentiate glycitein from its isomers. Neutral losses of CO and CO(2) were prominent in the fragmentation of deprotonated anions in ion trap mass spectrometry, whereas recyclization cleavage accounted for a very small proportion. In comparison with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, ion trap MS(n) mass spectrometry has the advantage of better elucidation of the relationship between precursor and product ions.

Removal of pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, UV-filters, Removal of pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, UV-filters, industrial chemicals and pesticides by Trametes versicolor: role of biosorption industrial chemicals and pesticides by Trametes versicolor: role of biosorption and biodegradation and biodegradation

This study examined the effect of molecular properties on the fate of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) in the aqueous and solid phases during wastewater treatment by MBR. A set of 29 TrOCs was selected to represent pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, UV-filters and pesticides that occur ubiquitously in domestic wastewater. Both adsorption and biodegradation/transformation were found responsible for the removal of TrOCs by MBR treatment. A connection between biodegradation and molecular structure could be observed while adsorption was the dominant removal mechanism for the hydrophobic (log D > 3.2) compounds. Compounds with high log D (log D > 3.2) but readily biodegradable did not accumulate in sludge. In contrast, recalcitrant compounds with a moderate hydrophobicity, such as carbamazepine, accumulated significantly in the solid phase. The results provide a framework to predict the removal and fate of TrOCs by MBR treatment.

The removal of trace organic compounds (TrOCs) by a novel membrane distillation-thermophilic bioreactor (MDBR) system was examined. Salinity build-up and the thermophilic conditions to some extent adversely impacted the performance of the bioreactor, particularly the removal of total nitrogen and recalcitrant TrOCs. While most TrOCs were well removed by the thermophilic bioreactor, compounds containing electron withdrawing functional groups in their molecular structure were recalcitrant to biological treatment and their removal efficiency by the thermophilic bioreactor was low (0-53%). However, the overall performance of the novel MDBR system with respect to the removal of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and TrOCs was high and was not significantly affected by the conditions of the bioreactor. All TrOCs investigated here were highly removed (>95%) by the MDBR system. Biodegradation, sludge adsorption, and rejection by MD contribute to the removal of TrOCs by MDBR treatment.

In this study, we examined the feasibility of membrane distillation (MD) for removing trace organic compounds (TrOCs) during water and wastewater treatment. A set of 29 compounds was selected to represent major TrOC groups, including pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, phytoestrogens, UV-filters, industrial chemicals, and pesticides that occur ubiquitously in municipal wastewater. Results reported here suggest that rejection and fate and transport of TrOC during MD are governed by their volatility and, to a lesser extent, hydrophobicity. All TrOCs with pKH > 9 (which can be classified as non-volatile) were well removed by MD. Among the 29 TrOCs investigated in this study, three compounds (i.e. 4-tertoctylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol and benzophenone) possess moderate volatility (pKH < 9) and therefore had the lowest rejection efficiencies of 54, 73 and 66%, respectively. The results suggest that the rejection of TrOCs with pKH < 9 may be governed by the interplay between their hydrophobicity and volatility. In addition, the fate and transport of the TrOCs during the MD process was also investigated. Hydrophilic TrOCs having negligible volatility were concentrated in the feed, while hydrophobic compounds with moderate volatility were substantially lost due to evaporation or adsorption. When MD treatment was integrated with a thermophilic membrane bioreactor (MBR), near complete removal (> 95%) of all 29 TrOCs investigated in this study was achieved despite their diverse physicochemical properties (i.e. hydrophobicity, persistency and volatility). The results suggest that MD could be a promising post-treatment to be used in conjunction with thermophilic MBR for TrOC removal.

Nghiem, L. D. (2013). Removal of trace organic contaminants by an MBR comprising a mixed culture of bacteria and white-rot fungi. Bioresource Technology, 148 (November), 234-241. Removal of trace organic contaminants by an MBR comprising a mixed culture of bacteria and white-rot fungi AbstractThe degradation of 30 trace organic contaminants (TrOC) by a white-rot fungus-augmented membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. The results show that white-rot fungal enzyme (laccase), coupled with a redox mediator (1-hydroxy benzotriazole, HBT), could degrade TrOC that are resistant to bacterial degradation (e.g. diclofenac, triclosan, naproxen and atrazine) but achieved low removal of compounds (e.g. ibuprofen, gemfibrozil and amitriptyline) that are well removed by conventional activated sludge treatment. Overall, the fungus-augmented MBR showed better TrOC removal compared to a system containing conventional activated sludge. The major role of biodegradation in removal by the MBR was noted. Continuous mediator dosing to MBR may potentially enhance its performance, although not as effectively as for mediator-enhanced batch laccase systems. A ToxScreen3 assay revealed no significant increase in the toxicity of the effluent during MBR treatment of the synthetic wastewater comprising TrOC, confirming that no toxic by-products were produced. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Abstract:The degradation of 30 trace organic contaminants (TrOC) by a white-rot fungus-augmented membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. The results show that white-rot fungal enzyme (laccase), coupled with a redox mediator (1-hydroxy benzotriazol, HBT), could degrade TrOC that are resistant to bacterial degradation (e.g. diclofenac, triclosan, naproxen and atrazine) but achieved low removal of compounds (e.g. ibuprofen, gemifibrozil and amitriptyline) that are well removed by conventional activated sludge treatment. Overall, the fungus-augmented MBR showed better TrOC removal compared to a system containing conventional activated sludge.The major role of biodegradation in removal by the MBR was noted. Continuous mediator dosing to MBR may potentially enhance its performance, although not as effectively as for mediator-enhanced batch laccase systems. A ToxScreen3 assay revealed no significant increase in the toxicity of the effluent during MBR treatment of the synthetic wastewater comprising TrOC, confirming that no toxic by-products were produced.

16The effects of controlled temperature variation in the range of 10 -45 C were assessed in a 17 lab-scale MBR that treated synthetic municipal wastewater spiked with selected 18 micropollutants. The effects were evaluated with respect to total organic carbon (TOC) and 19 total nitrogen (TN) removal, micropollutant removal, sludge growth, level of soluble 20 microbial products (SMP) in the mixed liquor and membrane fouling. Overall, the 21 temperature shifts caused high variation in the TOC and TN levels in the reactor supernatant, 22however that in membrane-permeate was relatively more stable, substantiating the robustness 23