By way of broadening the use of diverse sustainable bioethanol feedstocks, the potentials of Paper mulberry fruit juice (PMFJ), as a non-food, sugar-based substrate, was for the first time evaluated for fuel ethanol production. Without any external nutrient supplementation, the suitability of PMFJ was proven, as maximum ethanol concentration (56.4 g/L), and yield (0.39 g/g), were achieved within half a day of the start of fermentation, corresponding to a very high ethanol productivity of 4.7 g/L/hr. Using Response Surface Methodology, established potentials were further maximized through statistical optimization of process conditions of temperature (20 – 40 ⁰C), yeast concentration (0.5 – 2 g/L), and pH (4 – 6). At the optimal temperature of 30 ⁰C, inoculum size of 0.55 g/L, and pH of 5, ethanol concentration, productivity, and yield obtained were 73.69 g/L, 4.61 g/L/hr, and 0.48 g/g, respectively. Under this ideal process conditions, bioethanol from PMFJ compares favorably with typical sugar-based energy crops, highlighting its resourcefulness as a high value biomass resource for fuel ethanol production.