An optimization problem for an extractive distillation system composed of one extractive distilla-tion column and one stripping column was formulated. Tray efficiency of each column was determined by experiments for the separation of ethanol-water mixture where ethylene glycol was used as an extractive solvent. Optimization was then performed to find optimum operating condition using a steady-state rigorous model. Three optimization algorithms were tested to find the most effective algorithm for this system. An objective function was established in terms of heat balance, make up of the extractive solvent, and overhead product. The proposed optimization procedure yielded effectively not only the dependence of the objective function upon the operation parameters but also, within given constraint regime, an optimum operating condi-tion for an extractive distillation process.