General Collection and Preparation Principles

Selection of collection location Selection of collection equipment and materials Collection and acquisition Interim transport and storage I 

Selection of processing equipment and materials Production procedure investigation Development and organization of processing facilities Preliminary processing Preliminary drying 

Preliminary crushin coarse grinding Particle size fractionation (sieving) Homogenization 

Interim collection of processed material Interim physical characterization Interim chemical characterization Stability testing Packaging I 

Final physical characterization Chemical characterization (homogeneity) 

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A large number of considerations and factors must be entertained for the conception, development, preparation, assessment, characterization, and certification of RMs, including (a) end use requirements, (b) selection of materials, (c) preparation, (d) physical characterization, (e) chemical characterization, (f) certification, (g) documentation, and (h) distribution. Most of these have an overwhelming impact on the finally developed RM and on its credibility. This section deals with the steps, collectively denoted as collection and preparation, occurring early in the scheme of RM development. It treats general collection and preparation principles, and provides specific examples of preparative procedures. 

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