Design and Optimization of a Double‐Column Vapor Recompression Heat Pump Distillation Process via NSGA‐II for Separating Ternary Wide‐Boiling Mixtures

This study proposes a novel double‐column vapor recompression heat pump (DCVRHP) distillation process for separating ternary wide‐boiling‐range mixtures under two different vapor conditions: n‐hexane/n‐heptane/n‐octane using low pressure steam and n‐hexanol/n‐octanol/n‐decanol using high pressure steam. Through process simulation and multi‐objective optimization using the NSGA‐II algorithm, we compared the performance of the DCVRHP configuration with conventional double‐column distillation (DCD) under different steam conditions, evaluating differences in energy efficiency, economic costs, and environmental impact. Simulation results demonstrate that the DCVRHP process significantly reduces the total annual cost (TAC) by 37.36% for the first mixture group and by 53.76% for the second mixture group. Gas emissions decrease by 86.44% and 83.70%, while it decreased by 45.50% in the second group. The integrated application of vapor recompression technology substantially enhances energy efficiency and sustainability, offering a practical solution for the electrification and decarbonization of energy‐intensive distillation processes.