Effects of harvesting on morphological and biochemical characteristics of microalgal biomass harvested by polyacrylamide addition, pH-induced flocculation, and centrifugation

•Comparison of three harvesting methods for three microalgae species.•Effects of harvesting methods on cell membrane integrity are species specific.•Harvesting method could affect the final yield of specific biochemical compounds.•Polymer flocculation shows better biomass quality than centrifugation & pH adjustment.