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Flocculation is regarded as an effective, convenient and promising means for microalgal harvesting of microalgal biomass. In this study three types of metal sulfates (aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate and ferric sulfate) were applied as flocculants to harvest microalgae Chlorella vulgaris biomass. The optimal operating parameters such as dosage, rotation speed, flocculation time and sedimentation time during microalgal biomass harvesting were determined, and the effects of metal sulfate application as flocculants on lipid extraction were investigated. The results showed that the optimal dosage for the three flocculants to harvest microalgal biomass was identically 2.5 g L−1, and the optimal rotation speeds for coagulation and flocculation were 150 and 25 rpm, respectively, while the flocculation time of 10 min was found to be appropriate. The findings also suggested that metal residuals in flocculated biomass would affect lipid extraction, resulting in 5.9%, 4.4% and 3.3% reduction of lipid contents for aluminum sulfate, aluminum potassium sulfate and ferrous sulfate, respectively. The contribution of this study lies in the provision of the optimal operating parameters during the microalgal biomass flocculation, thus potentially offering the technical guidance for the harvesting of microalgal biomass using metal sulfates as flocculants in practice. • Metal sulfates were applied as flocculants to harvest microalgae Chlorella biomass. • The optimal dosage for the three flocculants to harvest microalgal biomass was 2.5 g/L. • The flocculation time of 10 min was found to be appropriate. • The sedimentation with 10 min could achieve acceptable biomass recovery of 83%–90%. • Metal residuals in flocculated biomass resulted in 3.3%–5.9% reduction of extracted lipids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]