24h acid hydrolysis

Needing to hydrolyse some protein foods down to amino acids by boiling for 24h in 6M HCl, I came up with a new "invention".

Place four 100ml conical flasks full of water into a 2l Japanese water boiler, about half-full, so as not to cause the flasks to float. Having four of them means they can't tip over anyway.

Then place your hydrolysis solution in a boiling tube into one of the flasks (or do up to four at once). I stoppered it with a one-hole stopper, to prevent too much water dripping into the tube and diluting the HCl or causing it to overflow.

I set the boiler to 90^oC, not 98, to reduce the amount of bumping.

It works really well, and is so much safer than using a normal water bath.