The surface properties of cobalt oxide after two different pretreatments have been investigated by means of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of adsorbed carbon monoxide, methanol and ammonia. The surface of evacuated Co, O, exposes Co3+ cations that react rapidly with CO, producing Co2+ and probably Co', together with carbonate ions. This surface is extremely reactive, and decomposes at room temperature both ammonia and methanol. After mild reduction in hydrogen, COO is produced. After this treatment the surface exposes Co2+ and even more reduced sites that by contact with CO give small polycarbonyl clusters. This surface adsorbs methanol dissociatively and ammonia molecularly at room temperature.

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The aim of this study was to deepen the assessment of the environmental impacts of a white wine produced in Sardinia (FU 750 ml), performing an attributional LCA. The system boundaries were extended, from 'cradle to gate' (partial LCA) of a previous study, to 'cradle to grave' (total LCA), in order to identify the environmental impacts occurring along the wine life cycle stages (vine planting, grape production, wine production, bottling and packaging, distribution, final disposal of the glass bottle). Some assumptions were made in order to quantify the environmental impact of the transportation phase, regarding the few data which were available. Inventory data were mainly collected through direct communication with the Company involved in the study. Results showed that the environmental performance of wine was mostly determined by the glass bottle production (for all impact categories except ozone layer depletion). The second contributor was the agricultural phase, which included two sub-phases: vine planting and grape production. Results showed that the vine planting sub-phase was not negligible given its contribution to the agricultural phase, mainly due to diesel fuel consumption. Transportation impact was found to be relevant for long distance distribution (USA); the impact categories more affected by transport were acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidation and global warming potential. Suggested opportunities to reduce the overall environmental impact were the introduction of a lighter glass bottle or the substitution of the glass bottle with a polylaminate container.

Visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy is a rapid and nondestructive technique requiring minimal sample processing before analysis, and coupled with chemometrics methods it appears to be one of the most convenient and straightforward analytical tools for studying fruit quality and ripeness. Chemometrics is applied to solve both descriptive and predictive problems in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food sectors. With this aim, an optical, portable, experimental system (Vis/NIR spectrophotometer) for nondestructive and quick prediction of ripening parameters of fresh berries and homogenized samples of grapes in the wavelength range 450-980 nm was built and tested. A total of 156 grape samples, representing vintage years 2005 and 2006 and harvested in the Valtellina viticultural area of Italy, were evaluated by Vis/NIR spectroscopy for ripeness parameters (soluble solids content, titratable acidity, and pH value) and for phenol ripening parameters (anthocyanins and polyphenols content). Accurate and good calibrations to predict ripeness parameters were obtained for both the 2005 and 2006 vintage years. Calibrations for technological ripening and for anthocyanins had good correlation coefficients (r CV >0.90). These models were extensively validated using independent sample sets. Good statistical parameters were obtained for soluble solids content (r > 0.8, SEP < 1.24 °Brix) and for titratable acidity (r > 0.8, SEP < 2.00 g tartaric acid L-1), showing the validity of the Vis/NIR spectrometer. Similarly, anthocyanins could be predicted accurately compared with the reference determination. Finally, for qualitative analysis, spectral data on grapes were divided into two groups on the basis of grapes' soluble content and acidity in order to apply a classification analysis (PLS-DA). Good results were obtained with the Vis/NIR device, with 89% of samples correctly classified for soluble content and 83% of samples correctly classified for acidity. Results indicate that the Vis/NIR portable device could be an interesting and rapid tool for assessing grape ripeness directly in the field or upon receiving grapes in the wine industry.

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