PWN Technologies developed a series of standard water treatment designs. The Perfector-R (Regular) is one of these concepts and is applied as a modular surface water treatment unit with capacities of 60 to 240 l/s (5.000 to 20.000 m3/d) and more. Witteveen+Bos carried out a benchmark to compare the Perfector-R with other typical conventional treatment concepts. For this benchmark, apart from the Perfector-R, a Classic concept (horizontal flow sedimentation), an Indonesian concept (lamella clarifiers) and a Pulsator concept (flat bottomed sludge blanket clarifier) were selected.

In terms of process technology, the Perfector-R shows to be a very efficient system. As a result of an innovative and robust process design, the coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation are very effective: treatment results are excellent at high loading rates.

The very efficient mixing of the Perfector-R results in relatively low chemical use and is also very beneficial for all downstream processes. The efficient mixing and sedimentation results ultimately in long filter runs (low percentage of filter backwash loss), low chlorine demand and stable drinking water.

The relative simple box-like concrete construction is easy to construct and leads to a compact system. The low mechanization leads to robustness, simple operation and low maintenance. The lesser amount of concrete (15-30%) and required footprint (25-30%) combined with the lesser energy consumption (30%) show great advantages.

All aspects result in significant lower investment (up to 50% ) and maintenance costs for the Perfector-R compared to other conventional treatment concepts.