Early experiments on water desalination by freezing

Abstract In the second half of the XVII Century the observation was reported that ice formed in sea water gives fresh water after thawing, and in some instances ice has been used as a source of fresh water on shipboard. At the end of the 1700's the Italian scientist Anton Maria Lorgna described a method to purify sea water and impure waters by freezing, melting of the ice and successive freezing of the water so obtained from the ice.