There is an increasing desire to develop sustainable fuel options that are not reliant of fossil fuels. One option being evaluated is the production of biofuels obtained from algae. The commercialization of such biofuels will likely require cultivating algae in large ponds. The ponds of algae would then be harvested and the lipids within the algae extracted and converted into biofuel. Existing methods of harvesting the algae have not proven commercially viable for numerous reasons, which include, but are not limited to: (i) too much water remains in the extracted algae for efficient lipid extraction, (ii) the algae cell walls are ruptured prematurely causing release of the valuable lipids before the extraction and conversion processes, and (iii) the algae cell walls are ruptured preventing the algae from being reused. Thus, there is a need for improvements related to the harvesting and processing of algae for the production of biofuels.