diff --git a/src/client/bounded_queue.ml b/src/client/bounded_queue.ml
index a8616aaa..174c624e 100644
--- a/src/client/bounded_queue.ml
+++ b/src/client/bounded_queue.ml
@@ -22,11 +22,22 @@ type 'a t = {
   on_non_empty: (unit -> unit) -> unit;
       (** [on_non_empty f] registers [f] to be called whenever the queue
           transitions from empty to non-empty. *)
-  try_pop: unit -> 'a pop_result;
-      (** Try to pop an item right now. @raise Closed if the *)
+  try_pop: unit -> 'a pop_result;  (** Try to pop an item right now. *)
   close: unit -> unit;
+      (** Close the queue. Items currently in the queue will still be accessible
+          to consumers until the queue is emptied out. Idempotent. *)
   closed: unit -> bool;
+      (** Is the queue closed {b for writing}. Consumers should only use
+          [try_pop] because a queue that's closed-for-writing might still
+          contain straggler items that need to be consumed.
+
+          This should be as fast and cheap as possible. *)
 }
+(** A bounded queue, with multiple producers and potentially multiple consumers.
+
+    All functions must be thread-safe except for [try_pop] which might not have
+    to be depending on the context (e.g. a Lwt-specific queue implementation
+    will consume only from the Lwt thread). *)
 
 let[@inline] push (self : _ t) x : unit = self.push x
 
@@ -40,10 +51,14 @@ let[@inline] close (self : _ t) : unit = self.close ()
 
 let[@inline] closed (self : _ t) : bool = self.closed ()
 
+(** Turn the writing end of the queue into an emitter. *)
 let to_emitter (self : 'a t) : 'a Opentelemetry_emitter.Emitter.t =
   let closed () = self.closed () in
   let enabled () = not (closed ()) in
   let emit x = if x <> [] then push self x in
   let tick ~now:_ = () in
+
+  (* NOTE: we cannot actually flush, only close. Emptying the queue is
+     fundamentally asynchronous because it's done by consumers *)
   let flush_and_close () = close self in
   { closed; enabled; emit; tick; flush_and_close }
diff --git a/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.ml b/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.ml
index 506bd214..b4d80f7b 100644
--- a/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.ml
+++ b/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.ml
@@ -1,17 +1,89 @@
 module BQ = Bounded_queue
 
+exception Closed = Bounded_queue.Closed
+
+(* a variant of {!Sync_queue} with more bespoke pushing behavior *)
+module Q : sig
+  type 'a t
+
+  val create : unit -> 'a t
+
+  val close : _ t -> unit
+
+  val closed : _ t -> bool
+
+  val try_pop : 'a t -> 'a option
+
+  val push_while_not_full : high_watermark:int -> 'a t -> 'a list -> int * int
+  (** [push_while_not_full q ~high_watermark xs] tries to push each item of [x]
+      into [q].
+
+      An item is not pushed if the queue is "full" (size >= high_watermark).
+
+      This returns a pair [num_discarded, old_size] where [num_discarded] is the
+      number of items that could not be pushed, and [old_size] is the size
+      before anything was pushed. *)
+end = struct
+  module UM = Opentelemetry_util.Util_mutex
+
+  type 'a t = {
+    mutex: Mutex.t;
+    q: 'a Queue.t;
+    mutable closed: bool;
+  }
+
+  let create () : _ t =
+    { mutex = Mutex.create (); q = Queue.create (); closed = false }
+
+  (* NOTE: the race condition here is benign, assuming no tearing of
+    a value of type [bool] which OCaml's memory model should guarantee. *)
+  let[@inline] closed self = self.closed
+
+  let close (self : _ t) =
+    UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
+    if not self.closed then self.closed <- true
+
+  let push (self : _ t) x : unit =
+    UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
+    if self.closed then raise Closed;
+    Queue.push x self.q
+
+  let try_pop (self : 'a t) : 'a option =
+    UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
+    if self.closed then raise Closed;
+    try Some (Queue.pop self.q) with Queue.Empty -> None
+
+  let push_while_not_full ~high_watermark (self : 'a t) (xs : 'a list) :
+      int * int =
+    UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
+    if self.closed then raise Closed;
+
+    let old_size = Queue.length self.q in
+    let xs = ref xs in
+
+    let continue = ref true in
+    while !continue && Queue.length self.q < high_watermark do
+      match !xs with
+      | [] -> continue := false
+      | x :: tl_xs ->
+        xs := tl_xs;
+        Queue.push x self.q
+    done;
+
+    let n_discarded = List.length !xs in
+    n_discarded, old_size
+end
+
 type 'a state = {
   n_discarded: int Atomic.t;
   high_watermark: int;
-  q: 'a Sync_queue.t;
+  q: 'a Q.t;
   on_non_empty: Cb_set.t;
 }
 
 let push (self : _ state) x =
   let discarded, old_size =
-    try
-      Sync_queue.push_while_not_full self.q ~high_watermark:self.high_watermark
-        x
+    try Q.push_while_not_full self.q ~high_watermark:self.high_watermark x
     with Sync_queue.Closed -> raise BQ.Closed
   in
 
@@ -23,28 +95,27 @@ let push (self : _ state) x =
   ()
 
 let try_pop (self : _ state) : _ BQ.pop_result =
-  match Sync_queue.try_pop self.q with
+  match Q.try_pop self.q with
   | Some x -> `Item x
   | None -> `Empty
   | exception Sync_queue.Closed -> `Closed
 
 let to_bounded_queue (self : 'a state) : 'a BQ.t =
-  let closed () = Sync_queue.closed self.q in
+  let closed () = Q.closed self.q in
   let num_discarded () = Atomic.get self.n_discarded in
   let push x = push self x in
   let on_non_empty = Cb_set.register self.on_non_empty in
   let try_pop () = try_pop self in
-  let close () = Sync_queue.close self.q in
+  let close () = Q.close self.q in
   { BQ.push; num_discarded; try_pop; on_non_empty; close; closed }
 
 let create ~high_watermark () : _ BQ.t =
   let st =
     {
       high_watermark;
-      q = Sync_queue.create ();
+      q = Q.create ();
       n_discarded = Atomic.make 0;
       on_non_empty = Cb_set.create ();
     }
   in
   to_bounded_queue st
-
diff --git a/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.mli b/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.mli
index abdb710c..d3cf6347 100644
--- a/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.mli
+++ b/src/client/bounded_queue_sync.mli
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-(** Bounded queue based on {!Sync_queue} *)
+(** Bounded queue based on simple synchronization primitives.
+
+    This is not the fastest queue but it should be versatile. *)
 
 val create : high_watermark:int -> unit -> 'a Bounded_queue.t
 (** [create ~high_watermark ()] creates a new bounded queue based on
diff --git a/src/client/sync_queue.ml b/src/client/sync_queue.ml
index 44d71a06..46d46af1 100644
--- a/src/client/sync_queue.ml
+++ b/src/client/sync_queue.ml
@@ -17,10 +17,6 @@ let create () : _ t =
     closed = false;
   }
 
-(* NOTE: the race condition here is benign, assuming no tearing of
- a value of type [bool] which OCaml's memory model should guarantee. *)
-let[@inline] closed self = self.closed
-
 let close (self : _ t) =
   UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
   if not self.closed then (
@@ -51,11 +47,6 @@ let pop (self : 'a t) : 'a =
   in
   UM.protect self.mutex loop
 
-let try_pop (self : 'a t) : 'a option =
-  UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
-  if self.closed then raise Closed;
-  try Some (Queue.pop self.q) with Queue.Empty -> None
-
 let pop_all (self : 'a t) into : unit =
   let rec loop () =
     if Queue.is_empty self.q then (
@@ -66,26 +57,3 @@ let pop_all (self : 'a t) into : unit =
       Queue.transfer self.q into
   in
   UM.protect self.mutex loop
-
-let push_while_not_full ~high_watermark (self : 'a t) (xs : 'a list) : int * int
-    =
-  UM.protect self.mutex @@ fun () ->
-  if self.closed then raise Closed;
-
-  let old_size = Queue.length self.q in
-  let xs = ref xs in
-
-  let continue = ref true in
-  while !continue && Queue.length self.q < high_watermark do
-    match !xs with
-    | [] -> continue := false
-    | x :: tl_xs ->
-      xs := tl_xs;
-      Queue.push x self.q
-  done;
-
-  (* pushed at least one item *)
-  if Queue.length self.q <> old_size then Condition.broadcast self.cond;
-
-  let n_discarded = List.length !xs in
-  n_discarded, old_size
diff --git a/src/client/sync_queue.mli b/src/client/sync_queue.mli
index b1ebb345..d64296d7 100644
--- a/src/client/sync_queue.mli
+++ b/src/client/sync_queue.mli
@@ -14,25 +14,11 @@ val pop : 'a t -> 'a
 (** [pop q] pops the next element in [q]. It might block until an element comes.
     @raise Closed if the queue was closed before a new element was available. *)
 
-val try_pop : 'a t -> 'a option
-
 val pop_all : 'a t -> 'a Queue.t -> unit
 (** [pop_all q into] pops all the elements of [q] and moves them into [into]. if
     no element is available, it will block until it successfully transfers at
     least one item to [into].
     @raise Closed if the queue was closed before a new element was available. *)
 
-val closed : _ t -> bool
-
 val close : _ t -> unit
 (** Close the queue, meaning there won't be any more [push] allowed. *)
-
-val push_while_not_full : high_watermark:int -> 'a t -> 'a list -> int * int
-(** [push_while_not_full q ~high_watermark xs] tries to push each item of [x]
-    into [q].
-
-    An item is not pushed if the queue is "full" (size >= high_watermark).
-
-    This returns a pair [num_discarded, old_size] where [num_discarded] is the
-    number of items that could not be pushed, and [old_size] is the size before
-    anything was pushed. *)