Growth of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella sp. in batch cultures was investigated in a novel gas-tight photobioreactor, in which CO 2 , H 2 , and N 2 were titrated into the gas phase to control medium pH, dissolved oxygen partial pressure, and headspace pressure, respectively. The exit gas from the reactor was circulated through a loop of tubing and re-introduced into the culture. CO 2 uptake was estimated from the addition of CO 2 as acidic titrant and O 2 evolution was estimated from titration by H 2 , which was used to reduce O 2 over a Pd catalyst. The photosynthetic quotient, PQ, was estimated as the ratio between O 2 evolution and CO 2 up-take rates. NH 4 + , NO 2 − , or NO 3 − was the final cell density limiting nutrient. Cultures of both algae were, in general, characterised by a nitrogen sufficient growth phase followed by a nitrogen depleted phase in which starch was the major product. The estimated PQ values were dependent on the level of oxidation of the nitrogen source. The PQ was 1 with NH 4 + as the nitrogen source and 1.3 when NO 3 − was the nitrogen source. In cultures grown on all nitrogen sources, the PQ value approached 1 when the nitrogen source was depleted and starch synthesis became dominant, to further increase towards 1.3 over a period of 3-4 days. This latter increase in PQ, which was indicative of production of reduced compounds like lipids, correlated with a simultaneous increase in the degree of reduction of the biomass. When using the titrations of CO 2 and H 2 into the reactor headspace to estimate the up-take of CO 2 , the production of O 2 , and the PQ, the rate of biomass production could be followed, the stoichiometrical composition of the produced algal biomass could be estimated, and different growth phases could be identified.