The energy content of each type of biomass species should bedetermined to establish their potential as biomass energysystems.Heating values often used as a principle indicator of the energythat specific biomass contains. Heating value is the amount of heatgenerated when a substance undergoes complete combustion andis also called the heat of combustion. Biomass comprises of organicsubstances, composed mostly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and
when it is completely combusted, it produces water and carbondioxide. The generated water and water vapors contain muchlatent heat that is given off upon condensation. The heating value,which includes latent heat is the high heating value (HHV), whilethat from which latent heat is substracted is the lower heatingvalue (LHV). Higher heating values observed are in order of sarcasaasoca leaf > soybean waste > cottton waste > wheat straw. Indiancoal is used in this study as a reference fossil fuel.