Evaluation of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay for monitoring effluent quality and disinfection performance

This study investigated the use of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay as a tool for monitoring water and wastewater quality and disinfection performance subsequent to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and chlorine disinfection. Two different commercially available ATP assays were used in the study and controlled experiments were carried out using a pure Escherichia coli culture to determine how the ATP content of samples change after they are exposed to UV and chlorine. Finally, a selected assay was used with samples collected from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants to assess its potential use by treatment plants for process and effluent monitoring. The ATP assay could detect the chlorine damage to cells but the detection limit of the assay was not sensitive enough to determine the level of chlorine disinfection performance. No clear trend was observed between UV irradiation and ATP content of the cells. Samples were also collected from water and wastewater treatment plants and a good correlation was observed between the culture-based methods and the ATP assay results, which indicate the potential use of the ATP assay as a process and effluent quality monitoring tool at treatment plants.