Volatile compounds released by microalgae-water phase from Taihu Lake in China.

•Dynamic headspace sampling with on-line monitoring of CH4 and NMHC reflects quasi-realtime release behavior of volatile compounds.•Profiles of VOCs and their released rates described by NMHC were closely related to microalgae’s state of health or the life stages.•NMHC and methane were estimated from 0.02 to 0.59 μgC/(h g) and 0.05–3.96 μgC/(h g), respectively.