Industrial water recovery via layer freeze concentration

•Batch reactor design for Layer Freeze Concentration.•Impurity in ice depends on type of salt, and freezing temperature which controls the ice growth rate.•NaCl results in more pure ice than MgCl2 at the same initial concentration and freezing temperature.•Agitation improves ice purity at high salt concentration up to 1.5 m, albeit at the expense of ice recovery.