## 1 Introduction
For example, investigations into polymeric adsorbents, such as AB-8, D4006, NKA-II, and D16, revealed that resins with higher BET surface areas and greater micropore volumes (e.g., NKA-II and AB-8) exhibited superior phenol uptake compared to those with lower microporosity. These findings underscore that beyond macropore-facilitated diffusion, fine microporous architecture is essential for enhancing adsorption capacity through increased surface contact and stronger molecular interactions with phenolic compounds [17]. The XDA-1G resin, as a non-polar adsorbent characterized predominantly by its microporous structure with a minor contribution from macropores, inherently capitalizes on the advantages of micropore-driven adsorption. This configuration renders it highly effective for the removal of hydrophobic organic pollutants in complex aqueous environments, where enhanced surface contact and strong molecular interactions are essential. These engineered resins are designed to exploit specific intermolecular forces, such as hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl or carbonyl groups on the XDA-1G resin and the -OH group of m-cresol, \(\pi\)-\(\pi\) stacking between aromatic rings, and hydrophobic interactions arising from the aromatic nature of m-cresol [18,19]. These structural and chemical modifications significantly improve the adsorption capacity and environmental robustness of the XDA-1G resins, making them highly effective under a wide range of temperature and concentration conditions typically encountered in industrial wastewater treatment. [PERSON] et al. reported that poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 228 mg g\({}^{-1}\) for m-cresol under dilute aqueous conditions ranging from 100 to 1300 mg L\({}^{-1}\)[19]. A novel molecularly imprinted material derived from biomass-based bacterial cellulose was synthesized with a hollow nanofibrous architecture, achieving an adsorption capacity of 33.9 mg g\({}^{-1}\) for m-cresol at a maximum concentration of 600 mg L\({}^{-1}\)[20]. Additionally, a sequential adsorption system comprising a hyper-crosslinked resin (NDA-99) and a strong base anion exchange resin (201 \(\times\) 7) was developed to treat highly acidic and salty m-cresol wastewater, achieving effective removal at an initial concentration of 200 mg L\({}^{-1}\)[21]. These examples underscore that much of the existing research has focused primarily on low to moderate m-cresol concentrations, highlighting the novelty of our study, which addresses adsorption performance under high-strength industrial wastewater conditions. In this study, a commercially available resin with hierarchical porosity and abundant surface functionalities was comprehensively characterized and employed for the adsorption of high-concentration pure m-cresol aqueous solution (20 g L\({}^{-1}\)). Unlike most existing studies that focus on dilute phenolic solutions, this work addresses the pressing need for effective treatment of coal-based industrial wastewater, which often contains m-cresol at much higher concentrations. The adsorption performance was systematically evaluated under various operational conditions. Elucidation of the adsorption mechanism through comprehensive modeling of adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics was performed, as well as detailed physicochemical characterization of the resin prior to adsorption. The results provide new mechanistic insights into m-cresol-resin interactions and demonstrate the XDA-1G resin's potential as a robust, high-capacity adsorbent for challenging industrial wastewater scenarios, highlighting the innovative scope and practical relevance of this research.