The "activated charcoal" part is a small mesh coating on one side. Based on the picture, I assumed that it was more about the activated charcoal filters that you can buy for cars, filter fibers impregnated with activated charcoal. I really can't tell if it makes a difference when shooting, I really don't think it would be very effective. Ultimately, I don't think it's of much use in a vacuum as activated charcoal isn't really designed to capture all odors. default filter. 1 star deducted because I didn't expect it.