British Coal Utilisation Research Association
British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) was founded in 1938, with the first chairman being John G. Bennett. It is a non-profit association of industrial companies, registered as a charity. According to its website "The aim of BCURA is to promote research and other activities concerned with the production, distribution, and use of coal and its derivatives". The member companies provide funds for BCURA to make grants to academic institutions to support research projects. The members are the UK power supply companies, coal producers, some large industrial users of coal and equipment manufacturers. It had a relationship with the now closed Coal Research Establishment at Stoke Orchard, Cheltenham, UK.
Coal Bank
The BCURA maintains a collection of 36 UK Coals, ranging from lignite to anthracite, which are used as reference standards in research.
People
Rosalind Franklin worked on porosity of coal during World War II.
Victor Goldschmidt lectured on rare elements in coal ash during World War II.
Marcello Pirani was scientific consultant during 1941—1947, concerned with carbonaceous materials resistant to high temperatures.
The family of John G. Bennett have a web site that contains information about him and BCURA
Peter H. Given, Head of Organic Chemistry, went on to Pennsylvania State University, achieving distinction in U.S.
BCURA activities were subject of a review published in Nature Volume 153 Number 3873 p 104 (22 January 1944).