You can control what type of reaction happens by changing the conditions.
Water reflux - alcohol, nucleophilic substitution, OH- acts as a nucleophile
Ethanol reflux - alkene, elimination, Oh- acts as a base
Both of these reactions have their uses...
1) The elimination reaction is a good way of getting a double bond into a molecule. Loads of other organic synthesis reactions use alkenes, so the elimination reaction is a good starting point for making lots of different organic compounds.
2. The substitution reaction allows you to produce any alcohol molecule that you need. And alcohols can be the starting point for synthesis reactions that rpoduce aldehydes, ketones, esters and carboxylic acids.
So haloalkanes are very useful as a starting material for making other orgainc compounds.
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