Regeneration of spent resin particles is a crucial step in a cyclic adsorption process for removal of phenolic species from wastewater. A simple model is developed for simulating the regeneration behavior in finite batch adsorbers. It is then applied to the regeneration by sodium hydroxide solutions, of a polymeric sorbent, SP206, saturated with phenol. Analytic solutions of the model are obtained based on both the reaction front assumption and the quasi-steady state approximation in the resin particle, considering the fact that sodium hydroxide reacts with phenol very quickly.