3.

ALTERNATIVES
First and foremost, there are a plethora of possible alternatives that has been created up until now
specifically in our country Malaysia, to name a few: Biological Treatment, Evaporation, and Membrane
Filtration. Well, these methods are useful because it brings a lot of advantages to treat our wastewater
properly. On the downside, there are loads of disadvantages behind these processes unfortunately. In
fact, the methods are rarely used or even get rejected due to its inevitable factors.
A contemporary method of wastewater treatment uses microorganisms to treat wastewater, widely
known as Biological Treatment method. This method whereas the use of microorganisms for the
biodegradation of organic contaminants is straightforward, economically advantageous, and popular
with the general public. Regrettably, this alternative method was rejected because of its slow process
and requires a large area to treat and store water, which leads to high capital and operating cost. When
it comes to the process duration, it takes a ton of times due to the exposure of problem kinetics. The
alternative is not possible at this moment since it requires a huge amount of money in order to carry out
the process.

Secondly, Evaporation method or technology can occasionally be used to recover valuable materials or
separate hazardous materials from wastewater flows. To add, in an increasing number of wastewater
treatment applications, evaporation is being considered as an alternative process. This specific method
is excellent because of the adaptability of the technique (the number of cells can be adjusted to meet
the required evaporation capacity). Sadly, it also has drawbacks, such as high pollution load in
concentrates. Therefore, there is also a possibility where too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water
causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle occur. At the end of the day, this alternative is
not relevant to utilize due to the expensive costs for high volumes of wastewater (energy consumption,
volume of the concentrate and costs of disposal) to cover.
Last but not least, the Membrane Filtration method, which typically relies either on ultrafiltration or
microfiltration, basically removes solids in wastewater treatment. Since it is quick, easy, and effective
even at high concentrations, this method is also beneficial for treating our wastewater. Additionally, it
is a successful way to get rid of particles, suspended solids, microorganisms, volatile and non-volatile
organics, dissolved inorganic matter, phenols, cyanide, and zinc (ELM), as well as other contaminants
(MF, UF, NF, reverse osmosis). The alternative, in contrast, was turned down because the particular
application dictates which membrane to use. For instance, the removal of total or particulate organic
carbon, and the production of potable water. The truth is, this method specifically is not possible to use
due to high investment cost which is often burden the small and medium industries.

To sum up everything that has been stated, each method brings pros and cons at the same time. Most of
the methods that were rejected have a similar main reason: which is the cost for adapting these methods
in our nation.