societe Why Choose ATP Testing ?

The measurement of bioburden in water is not new to industry. There are a variety of different measurement techniques that are used to measure biological concentration in water and wastewater streams, including:

  1. Culture-based methods: Involves physical counting of microorganisms contained in the sample. Because microorganisms are very small, they must first be cultured and allowed to reproduce before they can be physically counted by microscopic or metabolic change mechanisms.
  2. Suspended solids concentration: Wastewater treatment systems often use suspended solids to infer the concentration of living biomass contained in a bioreactor.
  3. Genetic methods: Recently, genetic methods, such as DNA measurement, have become a popular alternative to conventional culture mechanisms. These tests offer higher specificity and faster turnaround.

In most any water application, one of the most important characteristics to understand is the amount of total, active biomass. This characteristic is often overlooked in favor of measuring specific microorganism strains. However, to have changes to these specific organisms, the total population must change first!

When it comes to monitoring total active biomass, no test is as fast, easy, and accurate as measuring ATP! The following table compares the various conventional mechanisms with ATP for measuring total active biomass:

Method

Specificity

Interferences

Labor

Lag

Investment

Cost

ATP

Total Bioburden

-

5 to 10 mins

None

Moderate

$6 to $10

CULTURE METHODS

Plate Counts

Dip Slides

-

5 to 10 Mins

2+ Days

Moderate

$4 to $6

Dip Slides

Specific Bioburden

-

5 to 10 Mins

2+ Days

Low

$4 to $12

BARTs

Specific Bioburden

-

5 to 15 Mins

24+ Hrs

Low

$8 to $10

SUSPENDED SOLIDS METHODS

TSS

Total Solids
  1. Active Biomass
  2. Dead Biomass
  3. Non-Biological Solids
  4. Inorganic Solids

15 to 20 Mins

3 Hrs

Moderate

$1 to $2

VSS

Total Volatile Solids
  1. Active Biomass
  2. Dead Biomass
  3. Non-Biological Solids

15 to 20 Mins

3 Hrs

Moderate

$1 to $2

GENETIC METHODS

Genetic

Specific Bioburden

  • Non-active Biomass

1 to 2 hrs

2+ Hrs

High

$15 to $90

 Key :

  1. Specificity: Indicates what the test actually measures. Many tests measure only specific ‘strains’ of microorganisms, while others measure characteristics not necessarily related to bioburden but rather will infer biological activity.
  2. Interferences: Specifies interferences, if any, that will cause false-positive or inflated results.
  3. Labor: The actual amount of operator labor time involved in setup, sample processing, and obtaining the result.
  4. Lag: The lag time between sample processing and obtaining a result.
  5. Investment: The investment required to set up for each test method.
  6. Cost: The cost per test for each test method.

In the three most important categories - Specificity, Interferences, and Lag time - ATP is superior to other methods for measuring total active biomass! In fact, other suppliers cite ATP as the gold standard of total biomass measurement. LuminUltraT is the only company with ATP measurement products designed specifically for water and wastewater applications - check out the LuminUltra difference!

For more details on why to choose ATP for your biological monitoring needs, check out the following technical bulletins on the comparison of LuminUltra’s ATP measurement technology against conventional tests:

  1. LuminUltra ATP Measurements versus Suspended Solids Measurements for Wastewater Treatment Processes
  2. The difference between ATP testing and plate counts

In addition, there are other biological measurement methods available that measure specific types of activity or toxicity:

  1. Respirometry Measurements: The measurement of the rate of oxygen consumption or methane production is an important operating characteristic for aerobic and anaerobic bioreactors, respectively. These measurements are a measurement of biological activity, whereas ATP is a measure of energy. The two tests are in fact complementary, where ATP can be used to standardize the amount of active, living biomass used in either test, providing a more accurate depiction of respirometric rate per unit biomass. LTL Technical Bulletin ATP and OUR
  2. Toxicity Measurements: Toxicity measurements, such as the standard 96-hour trout toxicity test or MicrotoxT, are a means with which to evaluate the toxicity of a water or wastewater sample on a controlled group of organisms. An ATP measurement will not provide the same information as these tests, but a series of ATP measurements can be used to judge toxicity on indigenous biomass from a particular stream through setting up a simple incubation (see Biomass Growth Index, BGIT). In addition, MicrotoxT testing can be performed using the same Luminometer used for ATP testing! Contact us for details on this procedure.