When lacking all other means of firelighting then this is a perfectly viable means of firelighting. The method is as follows;

Put one teaspoon of Potassium Permanganate on to something flammable such as a sheet of paper or dry cloth i.e. cotton. Add a few drops of neat antifreeze (source of the Glycerine) then wrap the cloth or paper around the mixture tightly (this is to get the chemical reaction going). Place inside your tinder and wait a few minutes. It should ignite on its own to produce fire.

The Potassium Permanganate can also be mixed with sugar to produce the same effect using 9 parts Potassium Permanganate to 1 part sugar. The finer the grains of Potassium Permanganate and sugar then the chances of it igniting when crushed between two stones will be greater.

In the same way as Potassium Permanganate, Potassium Chlorate (3 parts) to Sugar (1 part) mixed together and initiated with some car battery acid will produce a similar effect but burns a little bit more fiercely.

Potassium Permanganate is best kept in the medical kit as an antiseptic and antifungal. Its multiple uses make it a very useful chemical and can even be used to sterilize water in low concentrations in a dire emergency (not recommended though). Sugar is best kept for the hot tea.