Herein is presented a simple, attractive, and reusable methodology for one-pot resolution/separation of free sec-alcohols with enantiomeric excess (ee) values over 90 % by the combination of sustainable acylating agents/solvents (polyethylene glycol derivatives) and an easily available and common biocatalyst (Candida antarctica lipase B, or CAL B) under irreversible conditions, along with a separation process by extraction or distillation. A scale-up reaction was carried out with the Fluoxetine precursor with ee values close to 90 % for the R enantiomer.Enantiomerically pure sec-alcohols are an important class of biologically relevant compounds amenable to facile and selective functional-group transformation. Stereoselective synthesis of a desired enantiomer can be achieved through asymmetric reduction of ketones, stereoselective nucleophilic addition to aldehydes, dynamic kinetic resolution of racemic sec-alcohols, and modification of enantiomeric natural products available from the chiral pool.Resolution of racemic alcohols is an appealing strategy, particularly when both enantiomers are valuable. Standard chromatographic methods such as chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) excel for analytical purposes and small-scale preparative purposes but are not viable for any meaningful scale-up. Simulated moving-bed chromatography has allowed for continuous operation but the high cost of chiral stationary phases and need for careful optimization for each substrate has reserved this method for more intensive resolutions.[1] Membrane technology using chiral selectors is another continuous resolution method.[2] Crystallization has been the standard for racemic resolution, particularly for substrates that can form organic salts, such as amines and carboxylic acids. By contrast, the formation of inclusion complexes is the only described method for resolution of sec-alcohols by crystallization.[3]The preferred method for sec-alcohol resolution has been kinetic resolution (KR). There are a few instances of chemical KR methods, [4] but the majority of applications focus on the enzymatic kinetic resolution (EKR), either by acylation of an alcohol or by hydrolysis of the acylated product. EKR is a well-established method given that the biocatalysts employed accept a broad range of substrates and afford very high enantioselectivity. The success of an EKR is dependent on three factors: 1) high efficiency of the enzyme, the stability of which can be increased in selected organic solvents, ionic liquids (ILs), [5] and eutectic solvents; [6] 2) the occurrence of EKR under irreversible conditions achieved by either using vinyl esters or anhydrides as acylating agents, [7] or drying agents for water removal or product removal (water or volatile alcohol) by evaporation under vacuum; [8] and 3) effective separation of the two enantiomers as free alcohol and ester.[9] The separation step is an important factor for upscaling a process. Separation methods are based on the type of acylati...