Effective adsorption toward p-aminobenzoic acid from aqueous solution by a L-malic acid modified hyper-crosslinked resin: Equilibria and kinetics

•Series of L-malic acid modified resins (KZ) using the esterification of chloromethy and carboxyl group were synthesized.•The best modified resin KZ-3 was screened by adsorption of p-aminobenzoic acid from aqueous solution.•The adsorption capacity of KZ-3 is much higher than that of the precursor resin KZ-3 and the commercial resin H-103.•The greater adsorption capacity of KZ-3 is attributed to its hydrogen bonding driving forces.•The utilization rate of functional group was investigated.