How do you separate enantiomers?

There are several ways that enantiomers can be separated, but none of them are particularly simple.

The first way to separate them is chiral chromatography. In chiral chromatography, silical get is bonded to chiral molecules to form what is called a chiral stationary phase. The enantiomers will then separate as they run down the column because one of the enantiomers will interact more strongly with the column and "stick" in place. Chiral sugars (ex. cellulose) are frequently used in chiral chromatography.

The second common method is to react the enantiomers with another chemical to form diastereomers. While enantiomers are identical in terms of chemical properties, diastereomers are not. Diastereomers can be created by reacting a mixture of both the enantiomers with another chiral molecule. For example, s-brucine is commonly used because it is cheap. Diastereomers have different chemical properties (for example melting points), so it is much easier to separate them. Then, after separation, the enantiomers can be recovered from the single diastereomer.