NaY zeolite nanoparticles were synthesized and shaped into the uniform spherical granules using a developed novel and simple two-step granulation technique. First, the alginate/nanozeolite or alginate/nanozeolite-bentonite spherical hybrid was successfully fabricated, and then the alginate was decomposed by calcinations resulting uniform spherical granules. To improve the mechanical stability of the prepared granules, bentonite was added as an inorganic binder at different ratios of 20 wt.% to 40 wt.%. Moreover, the effect of binder on the ion exchange properties of the prepared granules was studied. Increasing of binder content from 20 wt.% to 40 wt.% linearly enhanced the mechanical stability of the granules by 229%. Nevertheless, the addition of binder decreased the N-2 adsorption capacity by 192% at 77 K and reduced the maximum Sr2+ uptake per gram of granules by 35%. It was revealed that the ion exchange and N-2 adsorption capacities of the granulated NaY nanozeolites were, respectively, 24% and 43% higher than the micronsized granulated zeolite with the same amount of the binder (i.e. 20 wt.% of bentonite). (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.