A remarkable property of atmospheric chemical systems is that they do not lead to explosive behavior, except in contrived situations. To understand explosive behavior, consider a simple system where $x$ is oxidized catalytically by $OH$ to produce $Y,$ which photolyzes to produce $OH($this is not too dissimilar to the oxidation of methane, producing formaldehyde which photolyzes$).$ OH can also be scavenged by aerosols. We have three reactions:

$x+OHY+OH$

$Y+hvOH+$ products aerosol

$OH$ products

where "products" are assumed inert. Assuming steady state for $Y,$ show from the kinetic equations that this mechanism will either consume $x$ explosively or will shut itself down, depending on the initial concentration of $x.$

Note:

Explosive $=[OH]$ grows at accelerating rate so $x$ is consumed at accelerating rate.

Dissipative $=[OH]$ is consumed and loss of $x$ stops.