The reactivity and micro-structure of three coals and two cokes used in iron and steel manufacture have been studied by a variety of techniques, including gas sorption analysis, thermal analysis and microscopy. Changes in surface areas and porosities of the coals and cokes during combustion have been determined by a gravimetric nitrogen sorption technique at 77K. The cokes and coals have been studied by thermal analysis under isothermal and dynamic conditions in different gas atmospheres. Rates of reaction have been correlated with surface area changes. Attempts have been made to calculate activation energies from Kissinger plots of DTA data. Microstructural changes in the cokes and coals during carbon burn-off have been investigated by electron microscopy. Relative porosities have been estimated by image analysis. Mechanical strengths of the cokes have been measured and correlated with porosity data. Selected metals in the carbons have been determined by flame photometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The composition of residual mineral matter (ash) has been investigated by X-ray diffraction. The chemical compositions of the coal distillates have been characterised by ir/uv spectrosopy, NMR spectroscopy and by GC-MS techniques. Calorific values of the carbons have been determined. Results are discussed in relation to previous work and to applications 1n blast furnace practice. In coal combustion the surface areas increase during the initial stages of carbon burn-off, reaching maximum at about 50% burn-off before decreasing. The increases are considerably higher at 400° and 500° C than at 300° C for all three coals. Hysteresis data from the sorption isotherms show that the coals develop full ranges of mesa-porosity and some micro-porosity during burn-off at the higher temperatures. However, the coal oxidation is only slightly accelerated, since most of the new surface is located in the micro- and meso- pores where access to atmospheric oxygen is restricted by slow diffusion, so that the earlier stages of oxidation are approximately linear with time. This improves our knowledge of current empirical industrial carbon solution tests. There is comparatively little change in surface during the coking of the Coals at 1000° C and only restricted sintering of the coal ashes at 300- 500° C. In the combustion of the cokes in carbon dioxide at 1000° C the maxima in surface areas occur within 25% burn-off. However, one of the cokes shows a second maximum at later stages of burn-off, ascribed to the European component in the parent coal blend. This gives a more uniform rate of burn-off which is advantageous industrially.

The steel industry is the foundation that country marches toward modern of development of civilization. According to the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) has announced that world crude steel output reached 1,239.5 million metric tons for the year 2006. In 1996, Mainland China produced 101.2 million metric ton of crude steel. By 2001 this had risen to 150.9 million metric ton, an increase of 49.1%. In 2006, China produced 418.8 million metric ton of crude steel, an increase of 313.8% in just ten years. China¡¦s share of world crude steel production has also increased exponentially. In 1996, China became the largest steel producing country in the world. China remains the largest single market and the strongest growth area. Steel use will increase by 13% in 2007 followed by another 10% in 2008 taking the total to 443 million ton by 35% of the world total. Subject that several important environments of steel marketing change, While China poses a severe threat to Taiwan in the Steel market, Taiwanese Steel manufacturers have to move to higher ground ahead of the rising tide of mainland competition. Grounded Theory (GT) is a research method most often associated with the social sciences, (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Thereafter Strauss in 1990 published Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques together with Juliet Corbin. Grounded theory was developed as a systematic methodology, and its name underscores the generation of theory from data. When the principles of grounded theory are followed, a researcher using this approach will formulate a theory, either substantive (setting specific) or formal, about the phenomena they are studying that can be evaluated. To research and investigate the changing of supply-chain by interviewing decisive persons in the business, its purpose is to make this thesis more deliberate in study structure and procedures and operational logic. This research can be classified into four main groups, such as raw material suppliers,horizontal competitor,down-stream user and co-opetition(co-operation and competition). The iron and steel industry is combined with four groups, this thesis focus on iron and steel producers. Taiwanese steel industry was forced to face several critical issues from market changing in Mainland China. 1. The industrial down-streamers in Taiwan move to Mainland China. 2.The developments of upper-streamers in China that brings an extra option for purchasing raw material. 3.An increasing stress comes from excess of new established steel companies in Mainland China. 4.The lower- cost substitutes in China invade worldwide steel market. But under the special political situation and common in language and culture, both Taiwan and China industries could have more strategically options in cooperation or competition. It is influencing the key element that this research is probing into China's Mainland and interacting with steel industry of Taiwan, utilize and take Grounded Theoretical research, sum up 129 open coding altogether , sum up 14 axial coding and five selective coding progressively . In order to understand the key elements of the steel industries of both sides of Taiwan Strait.