A general. thermodynamic model is presented for analyzing distillation processes. The mass transfer in these processes was assumed to be in an irreversible thermodynamic state during model development. The simulated results show that this model can be applied not only to an analysis of the entropy generation in distillation processes, but also to a comparison of the effects of the tray parameters on the entropy generation in a column. It is shown that the entropy generation rate (EGR) can be reduced by increasing the tray active area for mass transfer or the weir length. In terms of energy savings, it is plausible for a distillation column with a smaller diameter, a lower weir height, a longer weir length, and a larger active area to save energy. A new tray, "95 tray", was thus designed on the basis of the numerical calculations.