The application of ionic liquids in separating complex ternary azeotropic system via extractive distillation (ED) is investigated. Five configurations using 1-buty1-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([BMIM][DCA]) as en trainer are proposed for separating tetrahydrofuran/ethanol/water, including heat-integrated ternary extractive distillation (HITED), HITED under reduced pressure (HITEDRP), and three heat pump-assisted ternary extractive distillation (HP-TED 1, HP-TED 2 and HP-TEDRP) configurations. A multi-objective optimization procedure is employed to optimize HITED and HITEDRP, and vacuum systems for the [BMIM][DCA] recovery section in the optimal HITED and HITEDRP processes are designed. Furthermore, HP-TED 1, HP-TED 2, and HP-TEDRP are explored based on the optimal HITED and HITEDRP processes. Total energy consumption (TEC), environmental impact potential of energy (EIPE), and thermodynamic efficiency are also used for performance evaluation of alternative configurations. The results hint that the HITEDRP process has better performance compared to the HITED process, and introducing heat pumping into HITED and HITEDRP can enhance their performance. Comparisons of all configurations suggest that the HP-TED 2 configuration presents the best results, and the HP-TED 2 configuration achieves a 22.35% reduction in TEC, a 17.39% saving in total annual cost, a 33.16% decrease in EIPE, and a 21.51% improvement in thermodynamic efficiency compared to the HITED process.