BACKGROUNDIn addition to monetary and symbolic functions, gold has many practical uses in dentistry, electronics, textile and spacecraft industries, plating, and medicine. Consequently, gold recycling is an important activity. In this work, extraction and transport of gold (III) from concentrated HCl media by long chain alcohols were studied using model systems with octanol, decanol, and dodecanol in a two- (liquid and solid extraction) or three-phase (polymer inclusion membrane, PIM) configurations. RESULTSNumerical data analysis revealed HAuCl4 extraction by a solvation mechanism. Regarding polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), the efficiency factors (permeability, selectivity, and stability) of the systems were determined. Through the analysis of extraction results, permeability profiles as a function of the content of the components, thermal analyses and reported evidence of extractant aggregation, the gold (III) transport mechanism was characterized as flow-type. CONCLUSIONGold (III) extraction and transport was satisfactorily accomplished with excellent separation from Pd(II), Pt(IV), Cu(II) and Fe(III) in the membrane system. Dodecanol-based PIMs presented the highest stability and permeability (approximate to 0.32 cm min(-1)). The work extends previous analyses of metal transport mechanisms in PIMs toward systems in which the extremely high extractant/co-extractant concentrations allow structuration of the media with consequent formation of conducting channels for solute migration. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.