The effects of an external electromagnetic field on the binodal curve of the (water + propionic acid + dichloromethane) ternary system was investigated at 91.3 kPa and T = (294.15 and 284.15) K. The experimental binodal curve values for the ternary system were obtained by the cloud point method using a new setup with a flat capacitor. The effects of variation of frequencies and amplitude of voltages of the applied external electromagnetic field on the binodal curve results have been evaluated. The results obtained indicate that the heterogeneous two-phase area increases with increasing frequency of the applied external electromagnetic field. At constant frequency, a similar effect has been found by increasing the amplitude of the voltage of the applied external electromagnetic field. The comparison between the results obtained for this work with those reported in previous work indicates that the treatment efficiency in liquid-liquid extraction process of (water + propionic acid + dichloromethane) ternary system can be governed by the applied external electromagnetic field. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.