Abstract: An exergy balance equation which relates to heat and mass transfer on distillation stages was derived from the theory of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. This equation was used to analyze an ethylene distillation column, and the result checked satisfactorily with that of equilibrium thermodynamic exergy analysis.In a multiphase discontinuous system, each phase may be considered as a subsystem, and all subsystems are separated by interfaces. With appropriate hypotheses, the equation of exergy loss relating to energy and mass transfer through interfaces may be expressed as follows:D=T_o[J_q·Δ(1/T)-sum from k to n J_k·Δ(μ_k/T)] Thus, profound insight into distillation process could be gained to provide ideas for further improvement of the distillation scheme.