Pressure‐swing extractive distillation and multi‐objective optimization of the ethanol/acetonitrile/benzene ternary azeotropic system

Abstract BACKGROUND The ethanol–acetonitrile–benzene ternary mixture frequently arises in chemical production and exhibits a Serafimov class 3.1–2 phase behavior; however, studies on its separation remain relatively limited. Considering the pressure‐sensitive characteristics of this system, this work develops and evaluates extractive distillation and pressure‐swing extractive distillation processes to achieve efficient separation of the azeotropic mixture. RESULTS Vapor–liquid equilibrium analysis identified glycerol as the optimal entrainer, and process parameters were optimized using a particle swarm optimization algorithm. On this basis, heat integration and heat pump technologies were incorporated to establish a comprehensive 4E evaluation framework covering energy, economics, environment, and efficiency. CONCLUSIONS Among the proposed schemes, the EDP‐HI‐SP process, which combines heat integration and heat pumps, exhibits superior economic, energy conservation, and environmental benefits, whereas the EDP‐HI‐DP process shows remarkable advantages in thermodynamic performance benefits. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).