Modifiying the CE-QUAL-W2 Model to Simulate Volatile Organic Compounds in River-Reservoir Systems

In this research, the 2D hydrodynamic and mass transport model, CE-QUAL-W2, is modified to simulate the fate and transport of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in standing and flowing water bodies. The modifed model is applied to the Karkheh river-reservoir system. For this purpose, a subroutine model is added to the CE-QUAL-W2 source code to simulate the physical, chemical, and biological fate of VOCs in water bodies. In a second step, the VOC mass continuity model is employed to evaluate the performance of the modified CE-QUAL-W2 model. The results confirm the accuracy of the modified CE-QUAL-W2 model. The modified CE-QUAL-W2 model is employed to simulate the Karkheh river-reservoir responses in sudden MTBE spill in Karkheh water body. The effects of reservoir operation (withdraw values and locations) on MTBE fate and transport are investigated. The results show, compared to the old version of the CE-QUAL-W2, the modified version in which VOC evaporation is considered shows a reduction in MTBE concentration in the water body under investigation. Furthermore, the effects of such environmental parameters as wind speed, water temperature, and air temperature on MTBE fate and transport are evaluated. The results show that increasing wind speed and water temperature accelerate the evaporation rate of VOCs and decrease the reservoir cleanup time while reducing air temperature leads to reduced VOC evaporation rates and increased VOC concentration in the water body.